Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic violence. This year, Tusla will allocate €22.1 million for the provision of services tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. This represents an increase of €1.5 million over 2016. It will assist in increasing capacity and improving access to emergency accommodation and other support services for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Tusla facilitates a range of services to victims of domestic violence and their families, including 155 family units, comprising 147 emergency refuge family units and eight emergency non-refuge family units. The remit of these services is to provide safe emergency accommodation on a short-term basis.

I highly value the work of service providers who work with victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It is important to break the cycle of violence, as children who grow up in an atmosphere of violence can be affected for many years to come. Refuges provide a place of safety for families in this situation, but a refuge is not a home. We know that the well-being of children is best supported by enabling children to live safely in their own homes.

My Government colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, has responsibility for Rebuilding Ireland, which contains a commitment to provide additional emergency refuge accommodation spaces for victims of domestic violence. This is in addition to those emergency refuge spaces already supported by Tusla. I worked very closely with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, when he held this brief, and I look forward to working with the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, on it now.

While there is no verified data, anecdotal evidence from service providers indicates the current homelessness crisis is impacting on the length of stay of families in refuges. Tusla is very concerned about this situation. My officials are in regular contact with Tusla, and we share the same motivation, which is to do everything we can to alleviate the concerns of families in refuges, and those families who are seeking refuge spaces.

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