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

I refer to the Respond! women's refuge in Tallaght, Cuan Álainn. I am not sure if the Minister, Deputy Reilly, is familiar with the site. It is ideally located beside the hospital and Garda station. It is anonymous and is surrounded by a supportive community. The difficulty is that Respond!, which is a voluntary agency, has said it cannot afford to fund the refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Respond! has bankrolled the refuge for the past three and a half years without any financial support from the State.

The refuge caters for nine families and has housed 71 women and 96 children, at a cost of €350,000 per annum. Respond! undertook responsibility for it for three years. Without the service women and children may have to return to potentially dangerous environments. I have heard that agencies, including Tusla, accept that Respond! has identified a definite need to care for women and children in such circumstances.

We know that there is a need for these type of refuges. If it closes, where do the women go? We know that if, for instance, they go to the sexual assault unit in the local hospital the Garda usually refer them to the refuge. It has a large catchment area, but it is not just women from Tallaght or the wider area who use the service. Women from different counties may use it, depending on their safety. Clients may move from different refuges.

It is doing its job and working well. If it closes, it means we are moving backwards. What will replace it if it closes? We need to open more refuges rather than close them. It is a question of money. I raised this issue during the debate on homelessness because it is part of that chain. People leave the family home because of domestic violence or sexual assault. We know what eventually forces women to leave the family home - it is usually the women who have to leave and the abusive partner stays behind. There is a safety aspect. What can the Minister do about this matter?

It is not a huge amount of money. The Minister's colleague, the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, has said the homelessness issue is not a matter of resources and I am glad to hear it. This is part of that chain because when they leave the home they become homeless. The added difficulty is if the gardaí have somebody in the local hospital who has been attacked or abused they normally look for somewhere for the family to go. We know in Dublin that hostel accommodation is full at night time and there is the same difficulty with hotels, so where do they go? Usually the gardaí put them in the station, which is okay for an hour or two or, at a push, overnight. Where do the families go? If we take this huge important piece of infrastructure out of the system what will replace it? I eagerly look forward to the Minister's reply.

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