Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2022
361. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he intends to introduce to help persons experiencing a relationship breakdown and domestic violence to access emergency accommodation (details supplied). [7860/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 the development and provision of 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 including capital funding support for the development of new refuges. Under Housing for All, the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) will continue to support the provision of new refuges.
My Department is also committed to supporting the provision of additional refuge accommodation arising in the third National Strategy on DSGBV that is currently being developed under the leadership of the Minister for Justice and also in line with the commitment set out in Housing for All and is currently engaging with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Justice in relation to this work.
In 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 useful reference for service providers, highlighting where they can be of greatest assistance to 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 contractual 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 with the objective of supporting a partnership approach by statutory agencies in respect of the delivery of domestic violence services. This is particularly the case in relation to helping to prevent and reduce the occurrence of related homelessness and facilitating the provision of 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.
In addition to the above supports, a new protocol was established in 2020 when the Minister for Social Protection agreed to make rent supplement more accessible to victims of domestic violence. This measure aims to ensure that they are not prevented from leaving their homes because of financial or accommodation difficulties.
