A Traveller family have been moved on from a halting site on the Headford road following the execution of an eviction notice for illegally parking a caravan. Another family have until next week to vacate the area and find alternative accommodation.
Eviction notices were issued by gardai on two Traveller women last Monday evening after they had parked their caravans illegally at Carrowbrowne halting site for the last few months.
According to reports mother-of-six Bridget Hegarty had illegally parked her caravan on a footpath at the entrance to the halting site. After being ordered to move her caravan last Tuesday, she returned to park on privately-owned land across the road from the halting site where her parents live.
Mother-of-two Celine Torrens has been given until next Tuesday to find alternative accommodation or a parking space for her mobile home. She told local media of her distress of being moved on while her seriously ill nine-year-old daughter awaits a bone marrow transplant at UHG.
A Galway City Council spokesperson confirmed that “last Tuesday, one family was moved on voluntarily. The other family has been given until next Tuesday because of her personal circumstances.
“There are a number of families on the site who are legally parked there. These two families were illegally parked outside the area. There’s only enough facilities for so many people. The people legally parked have rights and these have to be upheld,” she said.
The spokesperson continued to say that refurbishment at the site known as the “old Carrowbrowne site” is near completion and “families who were there before the refurbishment and those who have demonstrated a need for housing will be moved there in November”.
