Galway County Council is introducing an interest-free loan for members of the Travelling Community to buy caravans once they moved into halting site bays in Tuam.

The interest-free loans of up to €40,000 are being made available to Travellers who wish to settle or remain settled in one of the ten halting site bays in the town.

Council Chief Executive Liam Conneally said that the loans will be provided by the Department of Housing and Local Government on a pilot basis.

It is understood that five families in Tuam have already applied to Galway County Council to avail of the loan scheme.

The former Mayor of Tuam Martin Ward said that this was a welcome initiative as some of the caravans currently located in the halting site are in poor condition and in need of replacement.

But he also pointed out that such is the lack of accommodation in the Tuam area for members of the Travelling Community that there was a ‘doubling up’ of caravans in some of the existing bays.

He said that, depending on the size of the caravan or mobile home, some could cost in the region of €70,000 to €80,000 to replace.

“The people who are occupying the halting site in Tuam are long stay residents and have established connections to the area so this scheme is very welcome.

“At the moment we are encouraging the Council to provide around six cottages in and around the halting site as there is a growing demand for residential accommodation,” said Mr Ward, who is expected to be a candidate in next year’s election for the Tuam Municipal Council.

According to Galway County Council, the licencees of these bays provide their own caravan or mobile home, with the Council responsible only for the maintenance of the bay.

The local authority received notification last month from the Traveller Accommodation Unit of the Department of Housing and Local Government of the caravan loan scheme for Traveller-specific accommodation.

This, they say, supports the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation through preferential loans to Travellers to purchase their own caravan or mobile home for use on halting sites as their residence.

The amount of the interest-free loan advanced is subject to a maximum of €40,000, with the loan repayable over a specified period of time.

Mr Conneally, in his report, states that the Council is required to satisfy itself that the individual applicants can make the loan repayments and loan repayments received must be ring fenced to be used for site maintenance works.

The Council recoups the amount of each loan issued from the Traveller Accommodation Unit of the Department.

“We have received limited enquiries regarding the scheme, which has been publicised by the Council’s Traveller Liaison Officer and through the local Traveller Representative Groups,” added Mr Conneally.

Photo by Jacinta Fahy: Former Mayor of Tuam, Martin Ward, at the halting site in Tuam.