Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's recognition of Cuan Álainn refuge as a valuable resource, which is badly needed. Representatives of SAFE Ireland will appear before the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality later to talk about the need to properly resource domestic violence services. They say that at least €30 million needs to be put into services, and various agencies, including the Garda, need to provide resources to assist women and men in domestic violence situations. It is a serious issue, which has not been taken seriously to date, according to this organisation.

I beg to differ with the Minister. The problems in respect of the funding of services at the Cuan Álainn refuge were flagged with Tusla in September 2014; it was not just in the past few weeks. This should have been dealt with over time. It has been more than a year since it was flagged, and I urge the Minister to make sure the refuge stays open. It is absolutely crucial. If it does not remain open, that will have a serious knock-on effect on how the country addresses domestic violence and refuge provision.

See this speech in context