A halting site (or a halting bay site) is purpose-built residential accommodation for Travellers provided by a local municipal authority. The halting site has an individual bay for each family unit with a full range of services provided in a small structure on each bay.
Provision by local authorities
Accommodation for Travellers in Ireland
Irish state policy for providing housing for the Travelling Community is laid out in legislation, the most recent being the 1998 Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act. This law outlines the 5-year rolling accommodation programmes required of each municipal authority to meet the existing and projected accommodation needs of Travellers in their areas.
A minority of Travellers reside on Halting sites. Of the 30,987 Traveller individuals recorded as living in the Republic of Ireland in Census 2016 approximately 950 families live on Halting sites.
Other accommodation types for Travellers can include: Standard Local Authority Social Housing Traveller Group Housing RAS (abbrev for Rental Accommodation Scheme) & Leasing HAP (abbrev for Housing Assistance Payment) Voluntary Housing Rural Dwellings (not applicable in cities) Private Rented Accommodation
A halting site should not be confused with an encampment set up on private or public land (including highway verges and lay-bys) without the consent of the landowner.
Due to these being unauthorised the people residing there are liable to eviction. These lack facilities and are referred to in official documents as "Temporary Dwellings". The provisions set out in the 1998 Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act contain strong powers for local authorities to deal with unauthorised temporary dwellings. There are penalties used to deal with illegal encampments, as outlined in relevant legislation.
These laws include: Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1948 Planning and Development Acts 2000-2006 Section 10 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 as amended by Section 32 of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998 Roads Act, 1993 Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 (as amended) Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002
The Housing Department in the Local Authority of each county implements the Traveller Accommodation Programme. This Traveller Accommodation Programme is determined by assessment of need in the local government's administrative area, in accordance with the terms of the 1998 Act. Local authorities calculate the accommodation needs of Traveller households who are approved applicants for accommodation. This involves a census of the number of Travellers residing in the county towards the end of the calendar year. The assessment is done in consultation with the Travelling Community, Travellers’ Organisations, the Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, Public Representatives, the wider community and other Statutory and Voluntary Bodies.
Regarding halting site size, case studies showed that the range should be between five and fifteen bays but consensus rests on the number of ten. The conclusion was drawn that sites that are smaller than ten bays can create difficulties in the provision of onsite services (such as community centres and pre-school facilities) because of the economies of scale involved.
Accommodation provision in consultation
A big change to relations between the Traveling Community and the settled community is how the state has committed to working with Travellers. This is seen in County Councils and other relevant agencies delivering accommodation in consultation with members of the Travelling Community. The 1998 Act has provisions to allow for consultation by the County Council with the Travelling Community. The local authority Traveller Accommodation Programmes sets out to enable Traveller ownership of and pride in the programme itself. This is accomplished by Traveller participation in the structures, processes, and associations that play a role in managing housing and accommodation provided. The Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committees (LTACC) was established to facilitate consultation between Housing Authorities and Travellers. Membership of the LTACC provides for a number of Traveller positions depending on the size of the population. The committee gives advice on the provision and management of accommodation for Travellers.