Ms Fiona Ryan:

-----in what they thought were their responsibilities.

Fundamentally, what we are talking about here is an equity issue. I realise this is Ireland, but it should not have to depend on the quality of personal relationships, who one knows or whether such and such a person has taken the time to gain an insight into this. There need to be protocols and standards. I would refer the committee to action 2.3 in the national domestic violence strategy which outlines key areas to work on. However, I think we need to go beyond this. We should get the guidelines and have the participatory engagement sessions we are talking about here. Let us get real about what we are discussing because this was two years ago. It is great if we get this, but right now we need an emergency response on the ground, including tiered, safe accommodation for women and children experiencing domestic violence who are entering homeless services.