Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Domestic violence is a subject close to my heart and one which I have raised here on a number of occasions. I welcome what the Minister of State has said about the progress she is making in this legislation regarding this difficult issue. Unfortunately, it is true that many women who are subjected to domestic violence are unable to access anything other than emergency accommodation because they have a legal or beneficial interest in a family home. They are very much left outside the system in terms of sourcing any type of semi-permanent accommodation for themselves and their children.

I take on board what the Minister of State said about the measures she is putting forward to deal with this difficult situation but it may not be a matter for this legislation. I am concerned that there may be provisions in the housing code that prohibit anybody who has a legal or beneficial ownership of property from accessing social housing. That legislation is very discriminatory against women in particular, and particularly against women who experience domestic violence. We need to examine the legislation in more detail. I am thinking of the 2009 legislation which provides a disregard, for the sake of argument, for people in certain housing situations. I have long argued that a similar disregard needs to be applied to people who suffer domestic violence, the majority of whom are women. It is not a question for the legislation we are debating now but we must look at it with greater clarity.

I would like a specific cross-departmental review of how women and children experiencing domestic violence access housing. The issue of domestic violence is not just related to social housing but access to the rent supplement and clearly it will be about access to HAP down the line. I would like to see a concerted interdepartmental report prepared on this difficult subject.