Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

289. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 674 of 18 October 2016, if the action 1.8 in the Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, which states that Tusla will provide additional emergency refuge accommodation spaces for victims of domestic violence, is the same as the extra eight family units that were promised for 2016 for the greater Dublin area as stated in the reply to the parliamentary question. [35638/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In 2016, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has allocated funding of €20.6m for a network of some 60 organisations providing services to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland. Almost €12.0m is provided for emergency refuge and support services and a further €4.6m is provided for other community based domestic violence support services. The level of expenditure in this area will further increase in 2017, arising from the provision of €37m in additional funding to Tusla for services generally.

Tusla provides revenue funding towards the running costs of emergency refuge accommodation. Local authorities are responsible for capital funding in respect of emergency accommodation spaces. In the current year, Tusla is providing funding to support eight additional family units of accommodation; six additional family units of emergency accommodation in Dublin and Kildare and two emergency safe housing units in Sligo. The emergency domestic violence accommodation spaces in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing will be in addition to those already supported by Tusla.

Tusla is engaged with a number of specialist domestic violence service provider organisations and other stakeholders about additional provision to support families in safe accommodation in 2017 and beyond. Tusla’s focus is on achieving the optimum use of emergency shelter accommodation and effective community based services to avoid, in so far as possible, the need for use of refuges by vulnerable women and families.

My priority, and that of Tusla, is to ensure that the needs of women and children fleeing domestic violence are being met in the most effective way possible. I am committed to continuing support for these vital services.