Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I know she is particularly focused on and prioritises the safety of women and children and all those who are victims of domestic and sexual violence. A huge amount of work is under way to put in place structures that will outlive me or any other Member of the House and to ensure we can continue to prioritise domestic and sexual violence, develop refuge accommodation for victims, provide a mechanism by which counties - whether there are people on the ground driving it or not - can develop a refuge where one is not currentlyin situand expand or develop services or ancillary supports where those are needed. That work is being done by the Department, working with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and Tusla, which until recently had sole responsibility for the delivery of refuge accommodation.

In the interim, because this is obviously beyond the current strategy, we have developed a longer term plan to achieve the figures set out in the Istanbul Convention. We have set out the initial targets and Cavan-Monaghan is an area that has been identified as a priority. Funding is being allocated to put in place special advisers or teams that can bring together the work being done to help push applications forward, identify and purchase sites and work with local authorities, Safe Ireland and other organisations on the ground to get projects to the point where they can apply for funding through the capital assistance scheme, CAS.