Accommodating nomadism: navigating policy conflicts regarding provision of culturally appropriate homes for Irish Travellers

This article examines long-term deficits in government provision of homes for Travellers –a nomadic, minority ethnic group in Ireland. It focuses on conflicts regarding the provision of ‘mainstream’ houses/apartments for Travellers versus ‘culturally appropriate’ dwellings that support their nomadic and extended family living traditions such as halting sites for caravans and group housing schemes that accommodate extended Traveller family groups. Drawing on Matland’s influential ideas on policy implementation in conflict situations, we identify ‘ambiguous implementation’ as a key strategy government used to navigate these conflicts but suggest that ‘symbolic policy making’ also played a critical role in this regard. This dual strategy enabled central government to concede to national-level campaigners’ demands for culturally appropriate Traveller accommodation, while devolving policy delivery to local government where different actors conflict in their interpretation and operationalisation of these goals, resulting in incomplete implementation and limited output of this accommodation. The analysis provides useful insights into policy’s symbolic function, particularly in high-conflict policy fields.