A European human rights body has found that Ireland does not provide enough accommodation for Travellers and that many halting sites are in a poor condition.
The European Committee of Social Rights also upheld a complaint that the legal safeguards for Travellers threatened with eviction were inadequate.
The ECSR is part of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, a 47-member body distinct from the EU that promotes human rights and democracy.
In 2013, the European Roma Rights Centre lodged a complaint with the committee that Ireland was in breach of the European Social Charter over the standard of accommodation and housing rights for Travellers.
The European Social Charter is a legally-binding counterpart to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The committee has now ruled unanimously that there is a violation of Article 16 of the charter on the grounds of the insufficient provision of Traveller accommodation.
Despite recent progress, the committee found a substantial shortfall of halting sites, with only 54 operating out of the 1,000 that were identified back in 1995 as being needed.
It found that halting sites were in poor condition, lacked maintenance and were badly located.
There were also problems with a lack of water, poor refuse collection and problems with damp, flooding and sewage.
The report found that only five local authorities, or 15%, actually provided transient sites.
Despite a fall in the number of Travellers living on unauthorised sites, the committee found that in 2013 there were still 361 families living on such sites.
The report also found that Ireland was in breach of Article 16 over allegations of the forced evictions of Travellers.
It said that those facing eviction were not given sufficient information or legal notice, nor were they provided with alternative accommodation, although the committee acknowledged that the Government disputed this.
The body will now discuss the findings with a view to adopting a formal resolution against Ireland on the issue.
Meanwhile, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission board member David Joyce has described findings by the European Committee of Social Rights as “significant”.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Joyce said Travellers have had concerns over accommodation provision and legal concerns over evictions for many years that have now been endorsed by a high level committee in Europe, which was very important.
"The numbers of Traveller halting sites are not being made available and the ones that are being made available are just not up to standards in terms of safety, sanitation services and management," said Mr Joyce.
"The other area is a legislative framework which really needs to be addressed. It does not provide the legal safeguards when it comes to evictions.
"There's no alternative accommodations being provided, there is no access to legal advice or legal services."
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said he will be pressing the Government to take urgent action on the matter. Speaking at Stormont, Mr Adams said he had arranged to meet the minister for housing to discuss the issue.
