The Seanad has passed legislation which will make trespassing a criminal offence. The legislation was passed by the Dáil yesterday.
The provision is intended to deal with illegal traveller encampments. It would allow travellers to be arrested if they failed to move on from unauthorised camps within 24 hours of being asked to. They could face up to one month in jail and a €3,000 fine.
The traveller movement has called on President McAleese not to sign the bill into law, but instead to refer it to the Supreme Court.
Earlier today, the Minister for Justice, John O'Donoghue, met a delegation from the Irish Traveller Movement to discuss the legislation. Dublin's local authorities say illegal traveller encampments are costing them hundreds of thousands of euros a year.
Three national traveller groups have sought legal advice on the measure. Travellers claim this move has caused a breakdown in relations between them and the Government, and there was no consultation prior to its introduction. However, the Minister denied this, claiming there was consultation but a consensus could not be reached.
He added that this legislation was not aimed at those travellers who park or camp with the agreement of landowners, but rather those who do so without permission. Speaking to representatives of the Traveller Movement, the Minister promised he would arrange a meeting between them and the Minister for the Environment to discuss the matter further.
The Seanad debated the legislation this morning before passing it. The provision is an amendment, included in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. Senator Fintan Coogan said he welcomed the thrust of the Bill, but pointed to a lack of progress in providing accommodation for travellers.
He also expressed concern that people engaged in legitimate field sports could be excluded from land. Senator Francie O'Brien welcomed the Bill, and said that €72m had been spent on traveller accommodation since 1997, and that this showed the Government's commitment to travellers.
In the Dáil yesterday, the Labour Party accused the Government of attempting to rush through the new legislation. Labour's Housing spokesman, Eamon Gilmore, said this was an entirely new piece of legislation which had only been circulated yesterday, and he objected to plans to restrict the debate on it to a few hours today.
