of reports on economic and social matters. This marked a departure in the history of the Irish state, up to this point the government had simply deferred to the Catholic Church in the area of social welfare. In June 1960 the government established a "Commission on Itinerancy", the first specific state focus on Travellers in the history of the independent Irish state. This government body finalised their findings in "The Report of the Commission" , in August 1963, publishing it on 26 November. The Commission on Itinerancy travelled to the Netherlands in September 1961 to consider the policy there. Dutch policy on Travellers was in its second generation; a version of halting sites had been created under the 1918 Caravan Act. The Irish delegation visited Woonwagenkampen (tr. caravan camps). In camps like the one in Vlijmenseweg in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch they examined the facilities. Also, whilst there, the Irish delegation interviewed – through the use of interpreters – those Dutch Travelling Community resident on the sites. The Itinerancy Commission report in 1963 expressed satisfaction with the results of the Netherlands policy: 1. Facilitating Travellers in a single designated place in the locality allowed for sustained school attendance, and retention of contact with employers, employees, and business liaisons as well as for health and welfare services, voluntary organisations and religious bodies 2. The living facilities in the Municipal Sites are superior than traditional caravans and tents, greatly increasing living standards, prolonging lifespans, reducing the rates of sickness and problematic pregnancy The Report recommended the provision by each local authority of halting bay sites where numbers of itinerant families habitually frequent an area. The standard of these facilities were to be on a par with those in Chilmington Site and in the Travellers’ Camps (nl) in the Netherlands. The Irish delegation was impressed with the joint planning from the relevant parties involved. A conference in Netherlands in 1963 was held involving all the bodies that work with the Travellers. At this conference officials from municipal government, health and welfare services, charities and the clergy came together to learn from each other. Mistakenly, there was no Traveller representation at this stage. The references to this conference in the Report stands out because of the Irish acknowledgment that dealings with Travellers in the Netherlands improved when a holistic approach was taken. Prior to this, state dealings in Ireland with Travellers were largely only