Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 3 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Women's Shelters and Domestic Abuse Refuges: Discussion

Photo of Jennifer Carroll MacNeillJennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their attendance. It is great to see so many of them again. The final statement Ms Sherlock made was the most important because it painted a picture of what women are going back to and the choices they have to make. I am constantly challenged by the premise that women have to leave. I spoke yesterday with a woman who is stuck in a family law situation going back to May 2019 when she and her three children left an abusive situation and she is still struggling to find accommodation while her former partner remains in their family home. That story is not new to any of our guests and they do not need me to tell it.

I will ask a couple of specific questions, as we are tight on time. I congratulate Ms McDermott of Safe Ireland on the No Going Back document, which I found powerful. I thank her for coming to Oireachtas Members to talk about the document. When she mentioned the delay in Tusla's audit, she described the situation diplomatically. She said was keen to see the audit and I am sure other providers are too. I would like to give her the opportunity to expand on that. Why does she think the publication of that audit has been so slow, when it was due in quarter 1 of this year? What is the issue?

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