Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I agree with the previous speaker, as did the Minister. The results of the CSO survey are shocking but I think we all know that there are more under-reported numbers and that the numbers we have had up to now definitely did not reflect the true extent of the problem. This report really highlights the importance of having a whole-of-government, zero tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence as set out in the ambitious third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. We need a whole-of-society approach in tackling this. We can begin locally and work nationally.

I am passionate about securing a women's refuge for Carlow and delighted that agencies have expressed interest in finding and developing a refuge. The task group in Carlow is liaising with Tusla this week and is also working with Carlow County Council to identify a suitable location. I would like to see a proposed site identified and am also looking for assistance from the Department and the HSE on this. I wrote to the Minister in particular because the HSE has a really good site in Carlow town. I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and I also wrote and spoke to the Minister, Deputy Harris, about this. We really have to work on this. I am very dedicated to it as is the team I am working with now.

Carlow County Council with Focus Ireland and Carlow Women's Aid have four safe houses operational right now as family units for short-term, temporary support accommodation. I am sure the Minister is aware of this. These units are available to families that are escaping domestic violence or families that are very vulnerable. They also recently commenced eight own-front-door units purchased through the capital assistance scheme, CAS, by Kilkenny Voluntary Housing Association. These units will be available to families on a short-term basis. Since January 2022, despite the housing challenges, the local authority and a local network which I am working with have built up a network of property to support vulnerable families. The three Focus Ireland properties alone have supported nine families and out of them seven have gone on to secure their own permanent accommodation, following intense supports being provided. I know from working with them that Carlow County Council has really worked hard to try to keep children in particular away from emergency accommodation. That is so important.

The nearest refuge to Carlow is Amber. They do an absolutely excellent job there and I can only compliment them and their team. For a Carlow family with children to move to Kilkenny, the children cannot go to school because they cannot come up and down every day. With that, the wrap-around services, it brings huge challenges to the families. While we have an excellent refuge in Kilkenny, it is important that we have our own one in Carlow. That is something I am really passionate about. This summer we will have a firm plan to bring a refuge to Carlow. I thank the Minister on this as he has been working with us. The support he and his Department have given us has been absolutely excellent. I really want to compliment him on that. We are hoping to get the building quite soon, hopefully once we find a site. As I said, we are working with Carlow County Council to find a building. Wrap-around supports are going to be so important. It is so important that we do appreciate the work that is being done. It is happening in Kilkenny as well. In Carlow we have Carlow Women's Aid, Amber, Focus Ireland, Kilkenny Voluntary Housing Association, the HSE, Tusla, An Garda Síochána, Barnardos, the family resource centre and St. Catherine's. It is hugely important to us that no family in Carlow every feels they are being ignored. Working with Carlow County Council, they are also so supportive of all the services. Like other Deputies, my door is always open. I welcome that we are looking at the building and hope the Minister might be able to address this at the end. Timing is going to be crucial to get a women's refuge built in Carlow. This is not just about the bricks and mortar. It is about the wrap-around services. We need a site location but we also need to build a national domestic violence agency. We need to look at that. We are all committed and the Minister has been so supportive about the funding. At local level, we need to start as soon as possible. It is absolutely imperative that we have proper staffing and people who have the experience. All the agencies I have mentioned have done an excellent job.

I would like to ask the Minister about communication and maybe timing. I am working with victims at the moment. I am really not in a position to tell them our timescale is this or we need to move on it quickly. I am saying there is good work being done by the Government. I ask that we try to communicate more, even for us as Deputies, so that we are able to say where we are now. There is no question that we are moving. I just believe that we need to move a lot more quickly. It is about wrap-around supports as well. When someone goes into a refuge, there needs to be a strategic plan for what is called an exit. If someone is in a refuge and needs to exit that refuge, there needs to be support such as a house a family can go into and all the wrap-around supports. That keeps coming to me all the time. People are afraid to leave their own homes because where would they go? These are the unreported cases that I work with. Where do they go and how would they get supports? I know there are nine counties in Ireland that do not have a women's refuge. I ask the Minister for some sort of communication or information campaign. I know we have to be careful in how we deal with this, but even for us dealing with victims, I ask that we would have a list of things we could mention, to say this is the way we should do it or this is the way the Department is doing it.

I am aware we must be careful in how we handle this. We must be careful about how much information we give out. Like previous speakers, I am a firm believer education is the key to this. We need to see how we address this through education. Besides the women, children or men in that situation, their families are so affected as well. This has a huge knock-on effect on families.

This crosses different Departments, including the Departments with responsibility for housing and health, as well as the Minister's Department. I accept the involvement of different Departments brings challenges, but having worked with the Minister and with the other Departments, the Minister's commitment is absolutely appreciated. The people I am speaking to and the agencies I am working with are saying the Minister and the Departments have been working hard to get this. There are challenges, but it is about getting these refuges built as soon as possible, as well as communication, information and education. I can only thank the Minister. I have spoken to him several times and he has been so supportive, which I really appreciate.

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