Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 December 2022
10. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Justice the Government’s strategy on step-down accommodation in cases in which a person leaves a domestic violence refuge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56990/22]
View answerAs the Minister of State knows, the 16 days of activism on gender-based violence will end on Saturday but the work, needless to say, must continue. In view of this, will the Minister of State outline the Government's strategy on tackling DSGBV with respect to step-down accommodation in cases in which a person leaves a domestic violence refuge?
I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue regarding the Government's strategy on step-down accommodation in cases where a person leaves a domestic violence refuge.
In June, the Government launched zero tolerance, the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Under this five-year ambitious programme of reform, we want to achieve a society that does not accept domestic, sexual and gender-based violence or the attitudes that underpin it. It is a whole-of-Government and whole-of-society plan of action. This Government is committed to implementing in full the 144 detailed actions in the implementation plan for this year and next. The strategy sets out the Government’s objective that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one, and the overall number of spaces will double over the lifetime of the strategy. By 2024, we expect to have delivered 24 refuge units in Wexford, Dundalk and Navan. An interdepartmental group is developing and progressing agreed processes and approaches to ensure we have the highest standard of refuge accommodation delivered in the most efficient way.
In addition, safe homes, another form of emergency domestic violence accommodation, are an important part of that response. Safe homes are usually provided as a separate unit of accommodation, for example, a flat or a house at a community or local level. It generally suits those at low to medium-risk of serious harm. We expect to increase the number of safe homes available by 15 this year. Insofar as the question of step-down facilities is concerned, the new domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency, working with Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, will review the pathways into this type of non-emergency accommodation.
The Deputy may also be aware that a protocol established during the pandemic by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, which removed the means test requirement for victims of domestic violence for a three-month period, has now been made permanent. This ensures ease of access for victims of domestic violence to rent supplements. In addition, under the third national strategy, we have committed to examining other options for victims of domestic violence, such as addressing barriers to remaining in the home, if that is their preferred option.
I thank the Minister. The third national strategy he referenced commits to quite a few actions. In particular, I note and welcome that he intends to form a policy on how to keep the survivor in the family home but with their abuser removed, as opposed to the current situation where, in so many unfortunate cases, survivors have no choice but to return to the arms of their abuser after their time in a refuge is up. This is because, among other reasons, our barring order system is grossly inadequate and, in many sad cases, there is absolutely no step-down accommodation available. In addition, their abuser has isolated them from everyone in their life so they have nowhere else to go.
According to Women's Aid, since 1996, 242 women have died violently, 57% of whom were killed by a current or former partner. Some 150 of these women died in their own homes and 18 children died alongside their mothers. Some 61% of the women who died violently in the past 26 years were murdered in their own homes. Will the Government acknowledge the correlation between that fact and the lack of step-down and wraparound supports that it provides? Will it do better?
I certainly hear the Deputy. I assure her that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is determined to deliver as many refuge spaces as possible as quickly as possible. I agree with the Deputy that steps have to be taken to ensure that survivors can return to their homes without the presence of their abusers, who should be removed. We need to work more on ensuring that is the situation.
One of the overarching goals of the strategy is to ensure that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one. As I said, we will double the number of refuge spaces over the lifetime of the strategy, bringing them to 280. The Tusla review of accommodation services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence identified that priority locations for between 50 and 60 new refuge places are needed. Further analysis undertaken identified 12 locations nationwide where the delivery of 98 family refuge spaces would have the most impact if prioritised. In the initial phase of this work, we expect to deliver the 24 places in Wexford, Dundalk and Navan by 2024. The delivery of additional safe homes is also a key part of that response and is expected to increase over the duration.
I thank the Minister for his response. I will mention Clare Haven Services which has provided 30 years of invaluable service to women and families throughout the county, region and the country at large.
Through its educational arm and in collaboration with Technological University of the Shannon, Haven Horizons has put together a level 6 accredited course in domestic abuse and coercive control. Its work and contribution are invaluable and I thank it for those.
I am sorry to say that, for every family that Clare Haven accepted into refuge over the past three months, it unfortunately had to turn away two. These heart-breaking bottlenecks point towards the need for service-based organisations and wraparound supports to be directly involved in ramping up the provision of long-term accommodation for survivors of domestic violence. These people need beds, but they first need dignity.
Refuges across Ireland are like accident and emergency departments. They are not just overcrowded and underfunded by the Government but also are lacking in supply through no fault of their own. The third national strategy is admirable, as is the rent supplement the Minister of State mentioned, but without supply, these measures are futile.
I commend the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on her work and wish her well on her maternity leave.
Domestic violence support services and places of refuge must be easily accessible but no phone lines or offices provide help on weekends or after hours. When a person needs a refuge, there are no wraparound services. I am referring to local authorities and Women's Aid. There need to be emergency numbers, but there are none. There is nowhere to send women fleeing violence after initial support from the refuge. We need to provide proper facilities for women, who need to feel like they are starting again. They do not just need hostel beds, but assistance in finding jobs, affordable childcare and other types of practical help with wraparound services. Are we considering using approved housing bodies, AHBs, to provide housing support where women are in need? Must we consider legislating? There is so much more we can do in this crisis. The Government is committed to this area, but we need to do more.
I thank the Deputies for their contributions. What the Government is doing, led by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, will deliver. It has put in place the correct structures to deliver additional refuge accommodation, including the development of the new statutory agency. We will accelerate the number of additional spaces that can be delivered each year. Already, work is being undertaken to implement the strategy and preparations for it have been made, including a significant increase in funding under budget 2023.
The State has not done enough to date in terms of providing refuges, but what the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Department of Justice have put in place using a whole-of-government approach is a strategy that will deliver spaces. The strategy is backed by an implementation plan that is measurable and will be measured as we go along.
I visited the Aoibhneas refuge in Coolock last week. I heard harrowing stories and about the number of people it had to turn away. I was with the Ministers, Deputies McEntee and Darragh O'Brien, at the sod turning on the new property in Wexford. A great deal remains to be done but I believe the Minister's implementation plan will be effective.
