Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute and I thank the Government for making time available. Clearly, the numbers are going up and something needs to be done to ensure that a woman and her children can remain in their home without the threat of being harmed. A person’s home is her or his castle. Too much of this is going on, but it is not being reported. Women are slow to leave the home because they feel it might be a reflection on them when it truly is not.

We have a serious problem in Kerry. Killarney needs dedicated accommodation to help the people who approach elected representatives seeking help. Killarney does not even have a homeless shelter. As such, people have to travel to Tralee and take their children with them. That is not good enough. The children are missing out on school.

I thank the people at the Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, including Ms Vera O’Leary, and the staff at the ADAPT Kerry Women’s Refuge and Support Services and other agencies who have been doing tremendous work for many years since even before this issue was really discussed. We need to unite and ensure that these women are looked after properly. When they leave the centres and refuges, there should be dedicated accommodation for them, for example, houses in various towns and villages, to ensure that their children do not have to travel away from their schools and can be with their friends. That is important. I ask the Minister to please continue her work and ensure that people do not have to travel away from their home environments, which is something that only adds to the pain and harm already inflicted on them.

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