Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the reply of the Minister. Many issues need to be addressed. Some of them are easier than others. Domestic violence support services and places of refuge must be easily accessible. At present there is no phone line or office for help during weekends and after hours. As the Minister knows, domestic violence does not only happen between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Often it happens at other times of the day and night. In many cases it happens at weekends and at night. Is there a plan to establish an on-call service and wrap-around services such as those of the local authority when emergency accommodation is full? In Carlow there are two family emergency units. Due to Covid, only one is operational. It is nearly always full. There is nowhere for women fleeing violence. They often have to return to the same situation. What immediate action will be taken in Carlow to deal with these massive gaps in the services?

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