Laois among nine counties without domestic violence refuge

The need to provide accommodation for victims of Domestic Violence in Laois has been raised in the Dáil by Deputy Brian Stanley. 

The Sinn Féin Deputy outlined how Laois and Offaly are two of the nine counties without a refuge while addressing the Minister for Justice. 

“We know there is a huge problem out there. A commitment was given some years back that the nine counties would have services. The Minister has stated publicly that she is making it a priority. Sinn Féin believes it needs to be given a sense of priority. Laois and Offaly are two of the counties without a refuge or accommodation for domestic violence victims. Victims and their children are forced to leave not just their counties but, in some cases, the midlands, which has obvious consequences, such as taking children away from schools and taking families away from doctors, services, family and the support of friends," said Deputy Stanley. 

“There is an epidemic of domestic violence, unfortunately. We have seen the figures that have come out from Women's Aid and other sources, with Women's Aid suggesting there were over 40,000 disclosures in 2023. I understand this is the highest reported number in 50 years. It is astronomical. Some 52% of women and 28% of men are reported to experience sexual violence. These are shocking figures.

"It is important for victims to have a safe refuge. When they flee the abusive situation or violence, a safe space is needed for them to work out a way forward. We know it is a crisis situation not just for the victim but also for the children. It is important that they can access support and help without being under pressure, and that they can connect to services, such as counselling, justice or court services, or the various other wraparound services that they need when they are in that crisis situation.’’

“It is important that we try to get centres going in the nine counties that do not have them. The problem is that when people are trying to source accommodation, they go through a process of trying to get private rented accommodation, so they need time for that. I have come across cases of constituents who leave an abusive situation and go into temporary accommodation. They are not able to get alternative accommodation and they do not have a refuge to go to, so they go back into the situation of domestic violence. That is the worst of all possible worlds for them and the children.

"I emphasise that this affects men and women, and I have seen both men and women constituents who are victims of it. We need to provide centres for them. I hope the Minister has information with regard to the nine counties. The Minister said it is a priority, but we need to see it moved on at pace.’’

Responding Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said:  “A central element of delivering on the zero-tolerance goal of the third national strategy was the establishment of the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency, Cuan, and I was very pleased that was up and running at the beginning of this year.

"One of the key actions in the third national strategy is to double the number of refuge spaces in the lifetime of the strategy, which runs to the end of 2026, and, beyond that, we want to go even further. Cuan has been working closely with the Department of Justice on the development of the 2024 implementation plan, which was published in April. There are 144 actions overall in the strategy for this year, but it also sets out very clear deliverables for safe home and refuge accommodation. Planning and engagement are under way for the delivery of 150 additional family refuge units within the lifetime of the strategy. This includes 18 projects that are already under way, including projects in Laois, Offaly and the other counties mentioned. Some projects are at different stages. The delivery of eight new family units in Wexford will be complete by the end of this summer, 25 additional refuge units across two different projects will be under construction by the end of the year and we hope a further two projects will be in construction by the beginning of next year. The remainder of those projects are at different stages, with some at site acquisition or building acquisition, others that are progressing towards planning and others within the 18 projects that I mentioned where we are trying to identify a service provider.

"If a county is developing a refuge, it is not just the buildings or the bricks and mortar, but all of the services around that. That work is underway in the 18 different projects, including in Laois and Offaly. It will enable us to double the number of refuge spaces by the end of this strategy. I know we need to do more and go beyond that, and that is absolutely the objective here.’’

Deputy Stanley concluded by asking the Minister to emphasise to other Government Ministers that it is important in the upcoming budget that domestic violence and abuse services are well funded.