Clare CC v. Bernard and Helen McDonagh and IHREC

The accommodation needs of Irish Travellers have engaged Irish constitutional law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) many times, but few in such a significant way as in this case. Despite enabling legislation in 1998 for Local Authorities to provide Traveller-specific accommodation, some 500 families remain on unauthorised sites, many on Local Authority land. Legislation in 2002 criminalised this nomadic lifestyle, and there are many evictions. In this context, the Supreme Court decision in Clare CC v Bernard and Helen McDonagh acquires historical significance. It was delivered on behalf of the Court by Judge Gerard Hogan in the context of the centenary of the formation of the Irish state `where a distinct group the Irish Traveller community still remains a vulnerable minority at the margins of society.