Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy John McGuinness's intervention in the debate has been helpful and thoughtful and I hope to follow up on some of the points he has made. There is a responsibility on all of us, particularly as legislators, to identify anomalies or gaps in legislation, which is what Deputy Dessie Ellis is trying to do. The responsibility on all of us is to come up with something comprehensive to improve matters and make it easier for victims and their families. When we talk about domestic violence, we should always focus on the victim.

Domestic violence happens all year round. It does not appear to be something that is going away; in fact, it seems to be on the increase. We also know that there is a spike at different times of the year which, unfortunately, happens around times of celebration and holiday. Christmas, for instance, should be a happy time for children, but for many, it is a nightmare. It is a serious problem which does not seem to be going away.

As I stated, domestic violence is a serious problem. Resources are a major issue. The Minister of State referred to cases where people present at a refuge. While improvements have taken place with regard to many refuges, they continue to face significant difficulties. There are two refuges for women in my locality, the Saoirse Women's Refuge in Tallaght, and the Cuan Álainn centre which is operated by the housing agency, Respond!. The Saoirse centre is one of the older refuges, although it has been up and running for less than ten years. Before it was established, victims of domestic violence in the locality were forced to travel to the city centre and elsewhere for support services. The centre has six safe apartments, separate cooking facilities and victim support services, including support for those going to court. The length of stay ranges from a couple of hours to a couple of months.

The second project, Cuan Álainn, is a shelter providing a safe haven for nine women and their families. Since opening three years ago, it has provided refuge to 55 women and 82 children fleeing domestic violence. It faces a funding crisis and possible closure in January. Respond! has applied to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for further funding. I call on the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, to review the application as a matter of urgency. The Saoirse project also faces funding problems and much of its funding is raised from private sources. Unfortunately, a lack of funding is not unique to domestic violence shelters in south Dublin but extends to shelters across the State. Many of them are operating at full capacity. These problems are part of the wider homeless crisis. It is unacceptable that safe accommodation for victims of domestic violence may close.

The Minister of State indicated that in cases where victims of domestic violence are unable to return to the family home, housing authorities are encouraged to work with all service providers to ensure a social housing assessment is carried out and the victims do not end up residing in emergency accommodation for long periods. Unfortunately, many victims of domestic abuse are living in emergency accommodation for long periods. I could speak at length about the housing crisis affecting many families in Dublin. The options available to anyone seeking assistance at my constituency clinic on the Greenhills Road in Tallaght are limited. While we will refer them to the option of rented accommodation, the housing assistance payment scheme, HAPS, and rental allowance which HAPS replaces, do not cover the costs of rented accommodation. It is clear from browsing Daft.ieand similar websites that rented accommodation is simply not available for people on these schemes.

A further problem that needs to be addressed is the need to secure accommodation for families leaving refuges for the victims of domestic violence.

The purpose of the legislation is to address an anomaly. In the majority of cases of domestic violence, it is the victim who leaves the family home whereas in other jurisdictions, the victim tends to remain in the family home. Gardaí usually visit a home when a violent domestic incident takes place and they will normally ask the victim if she wishes to press charges against the perpetrator. This places the onus on the victim who, given her vulnerability and perhaps psychological state, may not be in a position to make this decision. Other jurisdictions take a much more progressive approach and place responsibility for pressing charges on the police because a criminal offence has been committed. This approach removes the pressure from the victim. We must rebalance our legislation and learn from the much more enlightened and effective approaches taken in other jurisdictions.

A further problem arises when a second violent incident involving a perpetrator occurs and the gardaí who attended the first incident need to be tracked down. We heard about cases where gardaí were unaware of barring orders and safety orders and the difficulties this lack of awareness causes. The process must be simplified. While I accept that this does not come within the remit of the Minister of State, we as legislators need to address the matter collectively.

There is an accommodation crisis. If victims of violence cannot get on the housing list, they must find a place to rent. Many landlords will not accept rent allowance and many victims who leave the family home do not have sufficient funds to find a deposit. In addition, the social housing list is getting longer. While it is not ideal to have people join the queue for social housing, the proposed measure is enlightened and a step forward.

Previous speakers referred to the reduction in funding for groups representing victims of domestic violence in the past four years, during which time demand for services increased. Where should people fleeing an abusive relationship go? Refuges are viewed as the last resort by many women and men. Some of them will seek refuge with family members but for those who do not have this option, the alternatives are narrowing and becoming increasingly difficult to access.

The purpose of the Bill is to try to address the gap in existing legislation by allowing a victim of domestic violence who is living with an abuser and is a joint owner of a home to join the housing list. The Minister of State indicated there is much greater clarity in the system in this regard. Such clarity does not seem to have filtered through to many of the local authority staff with whom I am in regular contact. Changes are, therefore, needed.

The purpose of the Bill is to address a gap in the system. The Minister of State indicated changes have been made and the proposed measure is not necessary. A comprehensive Bill on domestic violence is clearly needed.

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