Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, I welcome some of the proposed improvements and responses to domestic violence in the draft programme for Government but, like every Deputy, I will be holding whoever holds the relevant responsible ministerial positions to account because the State has not done enough to address domestic violence. I know this from having visited the Aoibhneas centre last November. I was not prepared for what I encountered. First, I was not prepared for the fact that somebody I actually knew was staying there when I visited. She was too embarrassed to meet me and instead left a letter to tell me how she felt. I was not prepared for the stories about the lengths abusers go to in order to stalk and track down their partners who leave them. For example, they order pizzas or taxis for the centre so the women might come outside where they can be tackled. I certainly was not prepared to hear about a victim who, after completing the programme in the centre, had no choice but to go back to the family home where she had been abused because no instrument could be found to allow her to find safe accommodation and to have financial support.

Right beside the Aoibhneas centre, there is a site on which it proposes it could expand. I ask the officials in the Minister's Department to do absolutely everything they can to facilitate the expansion and provide accommodation. It is not just a matter of family-style accommodation. The Aoibhneas centre is a fantastic centre for anybody who needs help but there are many women who do not have children and find themselves in unsuitable accommodation. As with the Abigail centre in my constituency, there should be dedicated facilities that women experiencing abuse can avail of. I ask whoever forms the next Government to put in place a capital programme to support them.

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