Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for addressing this really serious issue. It is actually a follow-on from a call I made yesterday to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to assist in move-on accommodation for survivors of domestic violence. This urgent issue needs multi-departmental collaboration. To our shame, hundreds of women and children all over the country are leaving abusive homes or situations, seeking safety in refuges and trying to rebuild their lives but they are facing a really uncertain future because there is simply nowhere for them to go after they leave the refuge. At the same time, the State through the Criminal Assets Bureau is seizing millions of euro worth of assets from criminal activity every year. That raises a very simple question. Why are we not using some of those proceeds more directly to support the very people whose lives have been damaged by violence, intimidation and abuse?

Refuges do extraordinary work - they save lives - but they are not designed for long-term living. Across the country, women and children are ready to move on and rebuild their lives but cannot do so because suitable accommodation simply is not available. This gap is not just a housing issue; it is a justice issue as well. What I am proposing is practical and achievable. We should examine how assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau could help fund move-on accommodation for women and children leaving these domestic abuse refuges. This is about making crime pay back. Money generated through exploitation and harm should be used to provide safety stability and a fresh start for those who have experienced that harm. We already have a system that removes wealth from criminal hands. The question now is whether some of that wealth can be redirected in a way that delivers a clear and visible social benefit. Even if it is not the actual house itself, a modest allocation from the proceeds could help local authorities and approved housing bodies deliver move-on accommodation. It would ease pressure on the refuges, free up emergency spaces and, most importantly, give women and children the stability they need to rebuild their lives.

There are international examples of this approach. In Italy, assets seized from organised crime have been repurposed for community use. On a recent visit to Lusaka in Zambia, I learned that with the assistance of our own embassy there, accommodation for vulnerable women has been supported through properties confiscated from organised crime gangs. That is where I got the idea for this. We do not need to replicate those models but we can certainly take inspiration from them because here in Ireland we already have structures in place but what is needed now is a policy decision and that collaboration through the Departments of housing, justice and possibly health.

I welcomed the continued investment in refuges around the country, including the confirmation yesterday of a refuge for Cavan and Monaghan, but we must also complete the next step of that journey. I am also working with the Departments of housing and health on how vacant or derelict buildings, particularly over-the-shop premises in our towns and villages, could potentially be used for this accommodation. Even unused HSE buildings could be used.

Making crime pay should mean taking assets from the criminals and restoring dignity, safety and opportunity to those victims and survivors of domestic abuse along with the victims of more and more human trafficking. I am asking the Minister to examine this proposal and consider how the proceeds of crime can be used in a more directed, targeted and impactful way to help these women and children in crisis and to rebuild their lives