Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 March 2015
142. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the options available for the victims of domestic violence who are forced to leave their local authority home and if local authorities find them alternative accommodation immediately. [10688/15]
View answerWhere an individual who has left their home due to domestic violence is considered to be homeless by a housing authority, under Section 2 of the 1988 Housing Act, the housing authority may arrange for them to be placed in temporary emergency accommodation without having to be entered on the waiting list.
Where a social housing assessment is an appropriate longer-term response to a case of domestic violence, the household concerned may be determined to be in need of social housing support where, in accordance with the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, a housing authority considers that the household’s current accommodation to be unsuitable in terms of adequate housing provision, having regard to particular household circumstances or on exceptional medical or compassionate grounds.
The household must also meet other relevant need and eligibility criteria prescribed in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, as amended, and in the 2011 regulations, in order to qualify for social housing support and be entered on a housing authority list of qualified households.
Victims of domestic violence who are forced to leave their home will usually present to, or will be referred to, a domestic violence refuge in the first instance, where a range of appropriate services may be available such as advocacy, accompaniment, counselling and legal and medical assistance. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, which is under the aegis of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, is responsible for overseeing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services.
