The Government will today force through a last-minute decision to make trespass a criminal offence in a bid to deal with dozens of illegal Traveller encampments around the country.
The move by the Minister for State for the Environment, Mr Bobby Molloy, follows a proposal on similar lines late last year from Fine Gael TD Ms Olivia Mitchell.
Traveller organisations, which found out about the proposal yesterday, are "up in arms", Labour TD, Mr Eamon Gilmore said last night. "This gung-ho move won't work," he added.
Under the proposal, which will be taken at Report Stage of the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Bills, those found guilty of criminal trespass will be subject to a €3,000 fine and/or one month in jail.
Up to now, trespass has been a civil rather than a criminal offence and gardaí and local authorities have found it difficult to move on illegal encampments, particularly in situations where they cannot identify people.
Last year, Dublin local authorities were forced to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds to clear up damage left by Travellers at Dodder Park and Ballyboden.
In future, people may not, without the permission of the owner, enter and occupy lands where such entry will "substantially damage" the properties and prevent landowners or others from proper use of them.
The Garda will be able to arrest without warrant anybody found improperly on lands who refuses to move. People accused under the major change in the law will not be able to seek the dismissal of the charges solely by challenging the owner's right to title over the property.
The change will be incorporated into the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, even though debate upon it will take place during the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) No. 2 Bill.
Mr Molloy promised to bring forward proposals to deal with Traveller encampments in response to Ms Mitchell's own committee stage amendment to the Housing Bill.
Tabling such a major change to the law in this way, said Mr Gilmore, "is simply a dangerous recipe for the creation of additional problems. We have seen before the problems that can be caused by rushed legislation."
