Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for attending to deal with this issue. It relates to the women's refuge Amber, which is based in Kilkenny city but covers both counties Carlow and Kilkenny. As one can imagine, this is quite a large area for one refuge. It can cater for seven women and 23 children. I invite the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, to visit the refuge. It is an excellent facility and does fantastic work. It is very much respectful of women's and children's individual privacy. It has been doing fantastic work in the area in recent years. Last year, however, the refuge could not deal with 320 referrals made to it. This was due to the fact that Amber is being asked to deal with very many emergency accommodation cases that arise in Carlow and Kilkenny. The service it provides and the role it plays concern domestic violence and women fleeing such violence. Everybody knows it can take an awful lot of courage and bravery to finally decide to leave certain circumstances, particularly if one has children. Where women make that decision and go to a service that says that, through no fault of its own, it cannot deal with them, the likelihood and reality are that most will return directly to the violent environment they left.

The service provided is not just accommodation. The refuge also provides counselling and supports in respect of courts and court orders. It provides great services for children, such as play therapy, which is vital. It should be allowed to do that work and concentrate solely on it. It should not be asked to take up the burden of the emergency accommodation situation in both Carlow and Kilkenny. I argue that we should have a stand-alone facility in Carlow. Realistically, if one is based in Carlow and one's children are going to school there, it is unrealistic to believe one can move to Kilkenny city and still be able to go about one's day-to-day life.

I ask that the Government consider having a stand-alone domestic violence facility for women and children in Carlow. It should also carry out an audit in the Carlow–Kilkenny area regarding emergency accommodation and domestic violence services and ensure adequate funding is put in place so the services can be separated. What is happening is completely unfair. Since being elected last year, I find myself time and again highlighting issues that directly and disproportionately affect women and children negatively. This is another example of that. I understand it is not the Minister of State's brief but he is very welcome to visit the facility. The staff would be happy about this. He would see at first hand the great work they do. I ask that adequate funding be put in place so emergency accommodation may be separated from domestic violence services and the services needed for the facility to be run adequately.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Funchion for raising this issue. I welcome the opportunity to clarify the position on domestic violence services in Carlow and Kilkenny on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, who sends her apologies for not being able to be here this afternoon.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic violence. In 2017, Tusla is allocating €22.1 million for the provision of services tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. This represents an increase of €1.5 million over 2016. Tusla provides funding to 60 organisations in this area nationally, 20 of which provide emergency accommodation to adults and children affected by domestic violence. In discharging its statutory responsibility, Tusla supports emergency refuges in providing services for adults and children fleeing domestic violence. Tusla also provides a range of community-based supports to victims of domestic violence.

It is important to distinguish between emergency refuge services funded by Tusla and longer-term provision for housing needs, which is dealt with by local housing authorities. The challenges involved in providing longer-term housing for those who find themselves homeless can impact on the length of time that families stay in emergency refuge accommodation. This can have a knock-on effect on spaces for those with acute safety needs seeking access to a refuge, as the Deputy has quite rightly pointed out. At times where domestic violence refuges cannot accommodate families, service providers help with referrals to other refuges or safe accommodation. Services also provide emotional supports and advocacy for women. Where there is an immediate or serious risk of violence, refuges work with the women concerned, and An Garda Síochána, as needed, to find safe short-term solutions.

My Government colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has responsibility for Rebuilding Ireland, which was launched last year. It contains a commitment to provide additional emergency refuge accommodation spaces for victims of domestic violence. This is in addition to those emergency refuge spaces already supported by Tusla. In 2016, Tusla provided funding for 155 family units, comprising 147 emergency refuge family units and eight emergency non-refuge family units.

I acknowledge the vital role that Amber Kilkenny Women’s Refuge plays in its community, providing safe, short-term emergency refuge accommodation for families, child care for affected children on site, a 24-hour helpline, counselling and other supports. I understand that the refuge can cater for seven women and up to 23 children at any time. The centre also supports women through the provision of information on all aspects of domestic violence and links to other relevant agencies.

These include social and community welfare, housing authorities and legal aid.

I am concerned that the level of demand for services in the region is greater than the current available capacity, and I thank Deputy Funchion for raising this matter. Tusla is allocating funding of €493,000 to the refuge this year. Tusla is committed to ensuring that there is more equitable access to services. It is developing more evidence-based, targeted interventions for those affected by domestic violence. Tusla will work in partnership with local organisations, such as Amber Women’s Refuge, Kilkenny, in order to obtain the best possible supports for families experiencing domestic violence in Ireland.

As part of its approach to the commissioning, Tusla is currently assessing the level of need throughout the country, and is working closely with key stakeholders to develop appropriate service responses. This work will inform future decisions by Tusla with regard to priority areas for investment, including the development of services in the south east.

In conclusion, I want to thank Deputy Funchion for raising this very important matter. It is of key importance that the needs of those who suffer domestic violence are met in the best way possible. I can assure the Deputy that my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Zappone, will continue to work on this vital issue with Tusla and with service providers around the country and in Carlow and Kilkenny as well.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I would like to pass along my condolences and thoughts to the Minister, Deputy Zappone. I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, has stepped in to take this matter. I welcome the fact that Tusla is going to conduct an audit of services. However, I raised yesterday at a Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs meeting that I would have some doubts about Tusla and its capabilities with all of the crises that it is dealing with at the moment.

Housing needs to be tied in with this as well. Something that I failed to say in my first contribution is that Amber has had to introduce a three-month stay. That is the first time it has had to introduce that. After three months, they are going to have to ask women to leave the refuge. That is extremely difficult on the women and children as well as on the staff and management there, who are trying to do their best. They are already under pressure and have to deal with so many difficult situations that they end up having to turn away others. They will obviously offer other supports to people but might not be able to provide the accommodation. Now, after three months, they will potentially have to ask people to leave. Housing needs to work alongside this.

I urge the Minister to speak to the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government about this to see if there is a possibility that Tusla and the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government can work together. It is an issue of funding for domestic violence services but also an issue of accommodation, because that is why they are in this situation in the first place. I believe it is really important that an audit is carried out in Carlow and Kilkenny on the emergency accommodation needs and the domestic violence needs in order that those two services can be clearly distinguished and that one is not taking from the other, which always seems to happen when a service directly affects women.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her work and sincerity in this area. It is very important. A range of integrated supports are required in order to reduce the need for women and families to use emergency accommodation and to ensure that families disrupted by domestic violence can be supported to resume normal and safe family living beyond refuse-type accommodation within the shortest possible timeframe. It is acknowledge that there are concerns in regard to the level of refuse space in the Carlow and Kilkenny area. However, there are a range of outreach services available, including information, advice, a 24-hour helpline and counselling. These outreach services are offered in a number of locations in County Kilkenny, as the Deputy knows.

Tusla is looking at the needs across Carlow and Kilkenny with Amber involved as the main provider of refuse services for women and families across the two counties.

The recommendation of the Council of Europe is for one refuse space per 10,000 adult women. According to the Council of Europe's analytical study of the results of the fourth round of monitoring the implementation of recommendation rec (2002)5 on the protection of women against violence, published in 2014, Ireland's ratio of refuse space relative to the population is higher than the recommended rate.

I know that the Minister, Deputy Zappone, will be happy to update the Deputy and her colleagues in the area on any related matters or developments. Again, I want to thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter.