James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I certainly hear the Deputy. I assure her that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is determined to deliver as many refuge spaces as possible as quickly as possible. I agree with the Deputy that steps have to be taken to ensure that survivors can return to their homes without the presence of their abusers, who should be removed. We need to work more on ensuring that is the situation.

One of the overarching goals of the strategy is to ensure that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one. As I said, we will double the number of refuge spaces over the lifetime of the strategy, bringing them to 280. The Tusla review of accommodation services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence identified that priority locations for between 50 and 60 new refuge places are needed. Further analysis undertaken identified 12 locations nationwide where the delivery of 98 family refuge spaces would have the most impact if prioritised. In the initial phase of this work, we expect to deliver the 24 places in Wexford, Dundalk and Navan by 2024. The delivery of additional safe homes is also a key part of that response and is expected to increase over the duration.

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