Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. I have said this many times and I will say it again; I believe we are dealing with an epidemic. It is in every town, village and corner of our society. More women are coming forward. It is mainly women although men are, of course, also victims. It is a very positive thing. We need to be able to respond with resources and supports. It is not just about providing refuge and accommodation. It is also about outreach services and supports. In the last four years alone, funding has gone from €20 million to €60 million. While a small fraction was used to set up our new agency, Cuan, last year, the vast majority of that money is going to deliver services, to expand services and to identify the need for new services in new areas. I have every intention of making sure we can expand further under next week's budget.

Work on the Carlow refuge will start next year. Obviously, I want to see it completed and concluded. The Deputy will see the same challenge we have faced in many areas where we do not have a refuge, which is that we are starting from the ground up. The strategy has been to put in place a very clear structure that means, whether there is a service on the ground or not and whether there is somebody who is committed to doing it or not, the structure can be brought together to work with the local authority to identify who will deliver the service, where the site will be, how it can be rolled out and how we can get the funding in place and make the application. Now that this structure is in place, it will allow for the acceleration of many of the projects that are already under way. I again thank Deputies for their comments.

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