The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross-Departmental and multi-agency issue, with overall policy coordinated by the Department of Justice. Responsibility for developing and providing services to support victims rests with my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV rests with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.
My Department’s role is to support the work of local authorities and NGOs who provide accommodation support to victims of DSGBV.
I terms of housing services, in 2017, my Department issued policy and procedural guidance to housing authorities relating to the role they can play to assist victims of domestic violence. The guidance is a reference for service providers, highlighting where they can best assist their clients. It covers a range of scenarios that may arise for victims of domestic violence currently in receipt of social housing support and those seeking social housing supports. These include provisions around the use of the Housing Assistance Payment scheme, or the Rental Accommodation Scheme, where a victim has a joint interest in the family home, or ownership of alternative accommodation, but would otherwise qualify for social housing support.
In addition, where a victim of domestic violence applies for social housing support in their own right while still a joint tenant, it is a matter for the relevant local authority to address the issues arising in relation to the joint tenancy agreement. Accordingly, the household may transfer out of their existing tenancy and into a new tenancy agreement with the local authority or they may access an independent tenancy in the private rented sector utilising the various housing supports offered by the State.
The guidance was introduced to support a partnership approach by statutory agencies to the delivery of domestic violence services. This is particularly the case in relation to helping prevent and reduce the occurrence of related homelessness and facilitating provision long-term accommodation for victims of domestic violence. This guidance continues to apply in providing direction to housing authorities in supporting the housing needs of victims of domestic violence.
