Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

We all share that hope. As a committee, we will be keeping a close eye to that as well because it is something that comes into all our constituency clinics. Mr. Deering discussed the outreach they do. This is incredibly important. I fully understand that in his line of work that he probably does not need to go out looking for business, but it is welcome that he does. When Mr. Deering is taking his feedback, has he engaged with, or would he consider engaging with representatives of and people who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse? The reason that I raise this is because it is in the context of housing and access to public services, but specifically for those who on the waiting list for housing. Anybody who follows what I say in the Dáil will know that I have raised this many times, but I will not stop raising it until we get some plausible resolution.

If we have somebody who has given ten or 11 years on the waiting list and they have to move because they are the victim of a vicious and serious assault, they must move for their own personal safety on the recommendation of An Garda Síochána. For want of a better phrase, they might have time served on a housing list. They cannot carry that time with them. I understand that they cannot bring it from local authority to another in normal circumstances. However, in exceptional circumstances when a person has a letter from An Garda Síochána that advises that person that he or she has to move to a different area to stay away from somebody who might be in prison and is about to be released, that person cannot go back. However, such people are faced with the prospect of losing the time. In this particular case, but there are many of them, this woman would lose 11 years on the housing list. She cannot ask somebody to go back. The average wait time in my constituency is 14 and a half years from the date a person fills out the application to the chance he or she will be housed. That is a lot to ask somebody to give up, particularly a person who has been through a lot of trauma and has experienced a lot of instability in his or her life. Access to secure accommodation would represent an important part of being able to just live. Does Mr. Deering have any thoughts on that? If he has not done so, would he consider engaging with representatives and survivors of domestic abuse?