Colin Murphy: Traveller site scandal points to deeper malaise in Irish society

Cork City Council’s failure to provide safe facilities at the Spring Lane halting site is merely the latest instance of ignoring our country’s most ostracised community

Spring Lane halting site in Cork where the city’s chief fire officer found there was ‘unacceptable risk to life due to the proximity of the homes and an overloaded electrical system’

Ten years ago, Cork City Council presented councillors with a proposal to rezone land to extend a chronically overcrowded halting site at Spring Lane on the city’s northside. The councillors voted it down.

The following year, a HSE inspection of the site, reported in the Irish Examiner, found that drainage problems had created a lagoon of water and raw sewage. The lagoon presented a drowning risk for children. Human excrement was visible at its edges.