Written answers

Tuesday, 15 February 2022

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Domestic Violence

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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519. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 124 of 26 January 2022, if he will provide a full reply. [7589/22]

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As the matter raised by the Deputy in Parliamentary Question No. 124 of 26th January 2022 was an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, I had referred the question to Tusla for direct response to the Deputy.

Tusla has advised my Department that the direct reply is under review in Tusla, and will issue in due course. As you are aware from our meeting with the Minister for Justice and the Taoiseach, the area of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is of significant importance to this Government.

In late January 2022, Tusla provided my Department with the below figures. ‘Safe home’ units are independent units of accommodation within the community where victims and their children at medium to low risk can be supported. A ‘unit’ or ‘family place’’ can accommodate a single person or a person and their children.

Since the arrival of COVID-19, the number of ‘core’ refuge units operational has been reduced at times to comply with public health guidelines, particularly in refuges with shared facilities. On-site accommodation in refuges has been supplemented with access to a range of alternative safe accommodation units. Last November Tusla provided material in response to a PQ asked by Deputy Dillon I have included the relevant table below it sets out the number of women’s refuges per county as reported 4th of Nov 2021.

County No. of Units normally operational pre-Covid
Co. Limerick 14
Co. Kerry 6
Co. Kilkenny 5
Co. Dublin 29
Co. Wicklow 7
Co. Clare 6
Co. Tipperary 4
Co. Cork 6
Co. Donegal 4
Co. Louth 12
Co. Westmeath 4
Co. Mayo 5
Co. Meath 5
Co. Galway 9
Co. Waterford 15
Co. Kildare 4
Co. Wexford 4
Total: 139

County No. of Safe Homes Operational
Co. Sligo 3
Co. Cork 2
Co. Dublin 17
Co. Kilkenny 2
Nth. Tipperary 1
West Cork 1
Total: 26

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

520. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 26 January 2022, if he will provide a full reply. [7590/22]

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the matter raised by the Deputy in Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 26th January 2022 was an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, I had referred the question to Tusla for direct response to the Deputy.

Tusla has advised my Department that the direct reply is under review in Tusla, and will issue in due course. As you are aware from our meeting with the Minister for Justice and the Taoiseach, the area of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) is of significant importance to this Government.

Under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, Tusla has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV. You may be interested to know, my Department provided the funding below to Tusla for the provision of DSGBV services.

Year Funding (million)
2016 €20.6
2017 €22.1
2018 €23.8
2019 €25.3
2020 €25.3
2021 €30.0

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