Ms Fiona Ryan:

I thank members for their interest. SONAS alone worked with approximately 1,250 women and children last year. In a country where 80% of victims of domestic violence do not disclose their experiences to anyone, that gives an indication of the sheer scale of what we are dealing with. I appreciate that the committee is here to deal with housing and homelessness and not domestic violence, per se. In terms of its relevance to the committee's work, however, I reiterate that domestic violence is a leading contributory cause to families becoming homeless.

In terms of local authorities - an issue which the committee was discussing - the truth is that it varies. I have met some amazingly inspiring, far-thinking individuals in local authorities. We have also engaged with others. We have had experiences whereby people were quite delineated - I am trying to be as diplomatic as possible-----