Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Bogfaimid ar aghaidh go Saincheist Thráthúil Uimh. 4, in ainm an Teachta Stanley.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I raise this important issue with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, this morning regarding the nine counties that do not have domestic violence refuges.

This is a very serious matter. 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. We all want to make it a priority and, certainly, the party I represent, 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.

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. The Minister will agree it is shocking that we are in this situation in the year 2024. There is major abuse of women and children, and of men in a lower number of cases, although it is no less serious. 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, and it is important that they have a safe space where they can think about what they need to do. 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.

In County Laois, in excess of 100 families have to move out of the county temporarily every year because of serious domestic violence. It is important that we try to get centres going in the 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 and they have to contact the local authorities to get that up and running, so they need time for that. The Minister, as a woman, will understand that, unfortunately, many people are forced to go back into the abusive situation, which is the worst thing of all. I have come across cases of constituents who leave an abusive situation and go into temporary accommodation, but they are not able to stay with friends and cannot get the safe space they need to get connected and plugged into the various services. 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. However, there are roughly twice as many women as men who suffer it, according to the reports. It needs to be stamped out. 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.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. When I was concluding the debate last week, I asked all Deputies to make sure we keep this on the agenda, so I welcome the fact today’s motion has been put down and that we have a debate on this issue directly after Topical Issues this morning. It means that we are all prioritising it and keeping that focus on it.

The Deputy is right that it is not just women who are impacted. We need to make sure, when we roll out refuge accommodation, supports and services, that while it is predominantly women and children who are impacted, it is also men. The Deputy will see that in the work done on the roll-out of refuges, there is a particular emphasis on safe houses and organisations are already using these spaces for men who are fleeing difficult and dangerous situations.

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. There are a number of elements to its overall objectives but it has a specific mandate to drive the implementation of the strategy across Government, bringing the expertise and focus that is required to tackle what is such a complex issue across our society. Its budget has increased to €59 million, which is an increase of approximately €30 million in recent years. It works in collaboration with NGOs and services across the sector to make sure the best possible supports and services are in place to meet the needs of victims and survivors, which, of course, includes safe accommodation that is accessible, no matter where people are in a county. One of the main goals and remits of the agency is to ensure that people have access to safe and accessible accommodation.

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.

The Deputy is right that it is not just about bricks and mortar. It is very important to try to get this point across to people. From the moment I started to engage with those who deliver the service and those who want to see more accommodation rolled out, the focus has been on getting it right. It is about making sure that when we identify a site or a building, it is not just to deliver the beds in the space, although that is very important. It is about the team that is delivering the service, making sure they have the capacity and capability and putting the right structures in place. It is also about the ancillary supports, for example, where children are involved or therapies are needed, and then looking at that follow-on regarding where people - women, children and men - go after they leave a safe house. All of that work is under way at present.

That is what is being done. Last year and into the beginning of this year, my Department, working with the Departments of housing, finance and children, has been looking at how we can put that blueprint in place to make sure we get this right. 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 under way 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.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for the reply. She mentioned the increased funding, which is welcome. In the case of Laois, a location has been identified and the council is very much on board, both the elected members and the council management. It is important that we try to move that on. We have an excellent service in the county, the Laois Domestic Abuse Service. The level of funding for these services is very important. Unfortunately, and I say this carefully, there is a huge demand for their services. I wish it were otherwise and I know the organisations and the Minister wish that too. The causes and the source of this issue need to be tackled as well. I ask 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. They run on a very low budget and while they do great work and have very dedicated staff, it is important that we fund them.

The Department official will be part of the team in the cases of Laois and Offaly.

I ask the Minister to convey to her officials a sense of urgency in respect of this matter. We are working on it at local level. It is a priority for Sinn Féin, as I hope it is for everybody else, to get the services in place. I ask that the departmental officials, in their dealings with the county council and the local domestic abuse services, try to get things moving as quickly as possible to ensure the bricks and mortar are put in place. The Minister is correct that we need services to go with the buildings. However, it is the bricks-and-mortar part that is holding things up at this point.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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All the components need to come together at the same time. That work is being done. As I said, it is being driven by Cuan, the new domestic violence agency, with the support of my Department and working closely with the Department of housing. All of these projects are being developed through the capital assistance scheme, CAS. We need to make sure that system, and the structure around it, works. It is also about building capacity. We have been equally focused on building capacity on an ongoing basis. We have been collaborating with Safe Ireland to create a comprehensive suite of documents aimed at guiding the development of refuges. That guidance will serve as a blueprint for establishing safe and supportive environments for those who need them. All of that work is under way.

As I outlined, 18 projects are at different stages of development. One of the biggest challenges, as the Deputy referenced, is in respect of the counties that have no facility. In those counties, there may not be a service that is capable of transitioning into a refuge or accommodation. A different type of service may be delivered there, whether counselling or other supports. We need to be able to introduce a service or expand an existing service. That is why the funding is so important. The increase of €30 million over the past number of years is going directly into the services. We must work with the providers to ensure they can expand and use that funding to deliver more services to the people who need them.

As the Deputy noted, the figures and statistics are startling, stark and harrowing to read. However, we now have a much clearer picture of the situation. In the coming years, as we continue to gather data, we will have an even clearer picture of the real extent of this catastrophic problem. Far too many women, children and men are impacted by domestic and sexual violence. If we have the facts and figures, we will know exactly what we need to do. That is what we are doing in respect of the provision of refuge and accommodation. The Deputy has my commitment that we are working towards a doubling of our refuge and accommodation spaces in the lifetime of the strategy. That work is under way by way of the 18 projects I referenced.

The work will not stop when the current strategy finishes at the end of 2026. Work will continue, I hope, into the next strategy to make sure we deliver even more safe spaces. Work is already under way through Cuan to find a pathway for people out of refuge and accommodation and to provide other forms of support for individuals, most notably support to keep people in their home. It is really important that victims are not forced out of their home. That is a separate strand of work and it is very much under way.