Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 May 2022
20. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Justice if she will report on her Department’s progress in increasing the number of women’s refuges available across the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26069/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe government is committed to ensuring that everyone who needs a refuge space will have access to a refuge space. I fully acknowledge the need for a significant increase the provision of refuge spaces and I am committed to achieving this in order to ensure that victims have a safe place when they need it.
As the Deputy will be aware, Tusla, the Child and Family Service, completed a review of accommodation services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence which identifies priority locations where there is a particular urgency. It is my intention to use the findings of this review as one of the ways to address gaps in the provision of refuge places.
While the review found that a minimum of between 50 and 60 new refuge places are needed as a priority, further analysis has identified 10 locations nationwide where the delivery of 82 family refuge spaces would have the most impact if prioritised.
These locations have been chosen on the basis of required proximity to a refuge, as well as a need for refuge spaces per head of population in densely populated areas.
They represent areas where there is the most significant under-provision and are a starting point to increasing refuge spaces comprehensively and in every county across the country.
It is our shared goal that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one, and the Government is committed to working with the sector to achieve this.
I also acknowledge the need to make it easier for organisations to access necessary funding and obtain the support needed to bring forward quality proposals.
At present, the time taken from initiation to the delivery of units can take years. To examine how it might be possible to shorten that timeframe, I have established a high level Inter-Departmental Group to review the current system for the provision of refuge spaces and to identify changes that can be made to the system to deliver additional spaces in the shortest timeframe possible. The Group is due to report to me in June.
As part of the work to finalise the third National Strategy to combat Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, my Department is examining how to advance the recommendations made in the Tusla review to both improve how, and how quickly, we deliver refuge spaces.
The strategy will contain actions for doing so both in the immediate and longer term.
