Roscommon Travellers are far more interested in living in standard housing than in clusters of homes built only for Travellers. A new report also reveals there are over 500 Travellers in the county. At today's meeting of Roscommon County Council, councillors will be asked to sign off on Draft Traveller Accommodation Programme for 2025 to 2029. It gives an insight into the current Traveller population in the county. The most recent survey shows there are 532 Travellers in Co Roscommon, 60 per cent of whom - or 319 - are children.
There are 127 Traveller households. The programme says there is a strong preference among Travellers for standard housing rather than Traveller-specific accommodation. The report says standard social housing will, in the main, be required to accommodate future Traveller generations who quality for it. It predicts the demand for Traveller-specific accommodation will be low over the next five years, and that seven such units are currently vacant in the county.
It says there are also three further tenants who want to move to standard social housing. There are currently three Traveller Specific Group Housing Sites in Co Roscommon - in Castlerea, the Lanesboro Road outside Roscommon town, and Ballyforan - and one halting site called Ballinacullia.
