Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 October 2015
12. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of State funding that has been provided to the Cuan Álainn women's refuge in Tallaght in Dublin 24 in each of the past five years; his views on the funding of women's refuges and assistance to women and children leaving domestic violence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36212/15]
View answerTusla, the Child and Family Agency, is the statutory body with responsibility for providing effective responses to victims of domestic violence and sexual violence. At all times, Tusla's key priority is to ensure that the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual violence are being met in the best way possible. For this reason, the 2015 budget is being directed towards front-line services and ensuring that no potential service user is disadvantaged because of geography.
For the first time, domestic and sexual violence services are being developed as a specialist national service with a single line of accountability and a dedicated national budget of €19.5m in 2015.
Current Tusla funding for domestic violence services is allocated to emergency refuge accommodation, prevention and community-based domestic violence supports.
The Cuan Álainn Centre opened in 2012 and is funded by Respond. The Centre provides accommodation for a range of clients some of whom may have been in emergency accommodation provided by domestic violence refuges. Tusla does not fund the Centre and I am not aware of previous State funding being provided to support the Centre, which was established independently of the State.
The Cuan Álainn facility does not operate as a front line emergency domestic violence service. It provides 'step down' or 'transitional' accommodation to support a transition into a permanent settled home. This can include survivors of domestic violence who are transitioning from emergency services to a new, permanent home.
Officials from my Department and Tusla recently met with Respond, at its request, to discuss the situation in Cuan Álainn Centre. The Department sought additional information from Respond, including information in relation to its overall financial position. The most recent information provided indicates that Respond, which is made up of two companies, is in good overall financial health.
I hope that the matter can be satisfactorily resolved, by allowing sufficient time for all avenues to be explored by the relevant parties. This will need to include discussion with other parties, including the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government as it would appear that these families have pressing housing needs.
I know that Cuan Álainn provides very important services, and I am anxious to do what I can to resolve the issue that has now arisen. With this in mind, I have agreed to meet Respond and I am hopeful that this meeting can be arranged shortly.
I would like to assure the Deputy that Tusla will continue to work closely with service providers to ensure that women and children fleeing domestic violence receive all necessary emergency support. The position in respect of the Cuan Álainn Centre is being kept under review.
