Ms Lisa Marmion:

I echo what Ms McDermott has said on the additional pressure. We are aware that nine counties are completely without refuges. For many years, I had the experience of working in County Louth. Dundalk, Navan and Drogheda sought to address this deficit. With regard to local authorities, our experience across the membership is that the capacity to respond varies. As we are all too aware, we are still in a housing crisis. We are not where we need to be in terms of available accommodation. This also has an impact. A number of years ago there was a little bit more flexibility but it has become increasingly difficult to find safe and suitable accommodation for women and children who need it.