Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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307. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his Department’s total capital and current expenditure budget for 2021 and 2022 for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence with a breakdown for each related allocation for both years in tabular form. [3503/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not have a budget line for schemes specifically focussed on matters around gender based violence, however, some funding is provided towards domestic violence shelters under the Homelessness programme.

The primary purpose of homeless current funding is for local authorities to provide accommodation for those who are unable to provide accommodation from their own resources. Reasons for presentations are varied and may (in a small number of instances) include those who have left their home or a domestic violence refuge or may have suffered from sexual or gender based violence. It should be noted, however, that the primary responsibility in this area is with Tusla, who I am advised provide funding for this issue.

My Department also provides capital funding to local authorities via the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS), which is available to Approved Housing Bodies in the development of new refuges.

Through CAS, local organisations have had funding support for refuges in recent years in Galway City, Louth and South Dublin and proposals from a number of other areas are at various stages of advancement. CAS funding remains available to support refuges and in that regard, I expect that the publication by Tusla soon of its Review of the provision of Accommodation for Victims of Domestic Violence, will assist in developing a plan to address refuge provision and related matters. The recommendations of this review are to be considered as part of the third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence that is currently being developed under the leadership of the Minister for Justice.

To date CAS funding of €3.14million has been provided to three Approved Housing Bodies for Domestic Violence Refuges which has resulted in the provision of 19 refuge spaces.

Details pertaining to same are set out underneath:

In addition to the above a further 3 Domestic Violence Refuges are at an early stage of advancement, which when completed will deliver a further 32 refuge spaces and CAS funding estimated at some €10million will be required to deliver same.