Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
395. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans and strategies to assist refuge services to expand their outreach and counselling services and create additional safe spaces to meet with clients who are in many cases very vulnerable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12664/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross Departmental and multi-Agency issue coordinated by the Department of Justice. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency provides supports for victims of domestic violence primarily through funded NGO service providers.
Government has agreed that the Department of Justice will assume responsibility for responding to DSGBV, and that the responsibility for policy and services will sit within that Department. Tusla will continue to have responsibility for the existing DSGBV services it provides and funds until the new administrative arrangements are in place.
Minister McEntee is leading on the development of a new whole-of-government 3rd national strategy to combat DSGBV. The goal of the strategy is zero tolerance for violence against women and it will be structured around the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention: prevention, protection, prosecution and co-ordinated policies.
The Strategy will be accompanied by a detailed action plan setting out how each of the aims will be achieved, who is responsible for them and the timeframe for delivery. This is currently being drafted with the sector so that it is targeted, ambitious and deliverable.
Feedback is also being invited through a focused consultation process on the final draft of the strategy. The draft strategy has been shared as part of the ongoing consultation led by Minister McEntee. A public consultation is also underway and it will help ensure that the Strategy is correctly focused on addressing the areas that people feel need the most urgent attention.
Following these consultations, the strategy and action plan will be finalised, brought to Government, and it is expected that the Strategy will be published in April.
It is important to note that the Third National Strategy will also make provision for how we deliver refuge spaces, both in the immediate and longer term, to cater for the needs of victims.
Tusla’s recently published ‘Review of the Provision of Accommodation for Victims of Domestic Violence’ assesses the current and requisite distribution of safe emergency accommodation and has examined the current level of refuge provision, evidence of demand for services and unmet need, and analysis of proximity to refuge by local communities.
Government will be guided by the recommendations of the Review. I expect that the implementation process for the Review will identify priority areas where there is greatest urgency in achieving safe accommodation for victims of DSGBV.
