Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Ireland's provision of refuge places for women who have been victims of domestic violence is hopelessly inadequate. We signed the Istanbul Convention in 2015. Adherence to that convention means we should have 498 refuge places throughout the country. We only have 143. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has no refuge places at all. A report produced this week suggested that, this year alone, 2,816 women and girls over the age of 15 will suffer from domestic violence. There is no refuge in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. I was also contacted by a group campaigning in County Carlow. There are two refuge places for two families for just 48 hours in the entirety of County Carlow. That is completely unacceptable. Groups campaigning for refuges in both those areas have contacted me to ask the Taoiseach about this, given his Department is involved in this area. One of the problems is there are about three Departments involved in this, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of the Taoiseach, and nobody is really responsible. Who is going to deliver on our commitment and requirement to have refuge places in adequate numbers?

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