Ms Margaret Martin:

Our experience with refuges is that, unfortunately, many women will flee and seek refuge but be turned away. As already stated, any action, particularly towards separation, tends to escalate risk for these women. It is really important that services are available throughout the country. Some women will want refuge or to use services in their own county but others would say they need to be 100 miles away or that they are in Dublin but need to be somewhere else.

We need an infrastructure or network that will allow us to meet all of those needs. It is not a case of one size fits all. Our experience is that many women are at very high risk. While there has been good progress on the domestic violence legislation and the responses from the Garda, there will be a need for refuge for a very long time yet. We have to admit this is the case and meet that need. A refuge is a safe space. Very often it is a guarded space with locked doors to protect women and children. Unfortunately that option has to be there. An awful lot of women or even their children have told us - and told me personally - for example, that they were in the Women's Aid refuge in Harcourt Street donkey's years ago and they can remember the black bags, sleeping on the floor and whatever, but that it really made such a difference. Women may have to go to refuges a number of times. The provision of refuge is inadequate in Ireland and that needs to be addressed. The more isolated women are, the higher the level of risk for them.