Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this serious issue. He will know, as other Members do, that I often raise issues relating to Tallaght. I am positive about the town, the third largest population centre in the State. Tallaght has often been described as having the population of a city but the status of a village. Thankfully, over the past 14 years, there has been much progress in this regard. Tallaght now has the facilities and infrastructure one expects in a new town. These include the town square, the hospital, the civic centre and the institute of technology. On an ongoing basis, it is the local Members' role to highlight the needs of Tallaght as a new town and look for the facilities and services required.

This issue I have raised relates to a women's refuge project which has been under consideration for some time. Over the years, a strong case was made for a women's refuge in Tallaght. The need was highlighted by the Saoirse group working towards the building of the refuge for the last ten years. It was identified as a necessity in numerous reports and plans for the area, including the 1997 report of the task force on violence against women, the eastern regional planning committee on violence against women development plan, the South Dublin County Council development plan, the RAPID plan for west Tallaght, the Health Service Executive's south-west area service plan and the Homeless Agency plan. Organisations including Saoirse, the Swan group and Tallaght Welfare have made the argument for the refuge for some time.

Much progress was made to the extent that South Dublin County Council identified a building and offered it to the refuge committee. It also received funding from the RAPID programme for the building's refurbishment. All was well until the Health Service Executive dropped the bombshell that it is not in a position to offer funding for the refuge. I hope that whatever his prepared script tells him, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, will tell his departmental officials that this is a serious issue for Tallaght. It would only take a small amount of money to get the project running. There is a strong demand in Tallaght for this particular service.

Every Thursday the Tallaght Echo brings us good news, and sometimes bad, about the town.

See this speech in context