Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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59. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the plans by Tusla to provide a women’s refuge in the Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown area of County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14566/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross Departmental and multi-Agency issue coordinated by the Department of Justice.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, provides supports for victims of domestic violence primarily through funded NGO service providers.

In 2021, Tusla allocated €28m in core funding for DSGBV services plus €2m in contingency funding to address challenges arising from Covid-19. Overall funding of DSGBV has increased from €23.8m in 2018 to approximately €31m in 2022. Funding in 2022 will support services to address cost pressures (COVID and non-COVID related) and maintain continuity of services.

Tusla supports Sonas, a provider of domestic violence services across Dublin, which currently provides a dedicated Outreach Support Worker and individual Safe Home accommodation units in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Services at Bray Women's Refuge are also in close proximity to many people in the County. However, I recognise it is not situated within the County boundaries.

Tusla has engaged with a feasibility study on provision of safe accommodation for victims of domestic violence in this area, undertaken by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2021. Tusla has advised my Department that there has been early stage discussions with stakeholders at the local level about potential future developments.

Tusla’s ‘Review of the Provision of Accommodation for Victims of Domestic Violence’ has been published. It assesses the distribution of safe emergency accommodation, examined the level of refuge provision, evidence of demand for services and unmet need, and analysis of proximity to refuge by local communities.

An Inter-Departmental Group, led by a senior official in the Department of Justice, has been established to examine the physical delivery of refuge accommodation, identify obstructions to delivery, address the perception of significant delays in provision and identify how they can be shortened.

Priority areas have been identified where there is greatest urgency in achieving safe accommodation for victims of DSGBV. There will be engagement with local authorities, Government departments and State agencies to source refuge provision, including Cavan and Monaghan. Work continues with partners to improve access to services and supports for victims.