At the outset, I have to correct the assertion in the question that applicants for asylum are not allowed to live outside Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) accommodation while their applications are being considered. This is manifestly not so, as many applicants choose to live independently outside RIA accommodation centres.
For those who require accommodation and associated supports from the State while their applications are pending, RIA accommodation centres provide a secure environment where violence of any sort, domestic or otherwise, towards any person, regardless of gender, is not tolerated under any circumstance.
Where incidents of domestic violence are brought to the attention of the RIA, steps are immediately taken to address the matter. For example, where separate living arrangements become a requirement for a family due to domestic violence, the RIA facilitates these arrangements. Also, where children may have been exposed to the sight of domestic violence, such incidents are reported to the HSE social work team for follow up in accordance with the RIA's Child Protection Policy. The system of direct provision allows for a level of supervision of families which would not be found in alternative living arrangements. The availability and visibility of staff, Public Health Nurses, Community Welfare Officers, General Practitioners, Community and Ethnic Liaison Gardaí and others linked in with an accommodation centre serves to help monitor domestic relationships and proves a support for families within the direct provision system.