Looking at a gift horse

HAVE I got this right: A group of Traveller families refuse to move into homes the council spent €1.7m building for them, because the council did not provide stables and land for their horses?

If they are demanding this on traditional grounds, I assume these horses are used to pull a caravan home they are living in at the moment – otherwise what we are talking about here is a demand for stables to keep horses used to either pull sulkies, for pleasure or for their children as a pet for horse riding pastime activity.

This is nothing short of outrageous at a time of severe housing shortage and when thousands are living in hotels.

If a farmer loses the family farm that has been in his family for generations,

as many did, should the council provide a home and enough land for him or her to farm because this was the traditional profession and family home?

If a fisherman’s boat is damaged beyond repair in a storm, should the council buy him or her another boat so they can carry on a traditional way of life their family has worked at for several generations.

If we were talking about a people that used horses as a necessity in their everyday lifestyle I would accept that without question, but don’t see why a group of people would use a long-dead tradition of using horses to pull their homes to get over and above anything the settled community can expect from the council. Anthony McGeough

Kingswood Heights, Dublin