Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the response and update. I would be very grateful if he could take on board and convey to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, that we really need to start planning for this now. The need has been established. As the Minister of State said, my area specifically, that is, Balbriggan, represents an area in which there is a significant underprovision and this is the starting point for an increase in refuges. We have not been prioritised for nothing. We have been prioritised because there is a very significant need. I want to convey to the Minister of State and put on his radar the need for practical planning as well. The need is established. Tusla has established that and I know it is working with the stakeholders. I know that some work is ongoing. My concern is about when we come to a physical space and how that may delay things. It will be no harm for that work to start as well as the other work with Tusla.

When we talk to organisations like Aoibhneas, they will tell us. Aoibhneas goes above and beyond. The Minister of State will be familiar with its work in his own area. The staff really they stretch themselves, their services and the resources they have. The need is already there. I want to convey to the Minister of State the need for planning to start now for where this will be physically located. It would be different if we were having discussion about whether we needed it or whether the Minister of State was convinced the numbers were required. That discussion has been had, however. We need to move very swiftly now into the planning phase, which will involve finding a premises. It is the really practical issue of finding a premises in a town that has a high population and a fair amount of building work going on. The fact is that Fingal County Council does not have anything. My concern would be that maybe there is a belief that it might be able to come up with something. It said it cannot so the need would be to look elsewhere.

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