Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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332. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 489 of 18 October 2022, what happens in an instance in which a woman who can avail of the rent supplement cannot source a rental property by the time she has to leave refuge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4179/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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While my Department does provide support through the Capital Assistance Scheme for accommodation for victims of domestic violence, responsibility for the development and provision of accommodation and related services to support victims of domestic violence rests with my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I understand that the delivery of these services is managed by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. My colleague the Minister for Justice leads the overall policy coordination of the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) which was published 28 June 2022.

In terms of housing services, in 2017, my Department issued policy and procedural guidance to housing authorities relating to the role they can play to assist victims of domestic violence.  The guidance is a reference for service providers, highlighting where they can best assist their clients.  It covers a range of scenarios that may arise for victims of domestic violence currently in receipt of social housing support and those seeking social housing supports. These include provisions around the use of the Housing Assistance Payment scheme, or the Rental Accommodation Scheme, where a victim has a joint interest in the family home, or ownership of alternative accommodation, but would otherwise qualify for social housing support.  The support available will depend on the circumstances of the case.

The guidance also highlights how victims of domestic violence are recognised as an 'at risk' target group in relation to homelessness. A housing authority may provide short-term emergency housing to persons who are unable to return to their homes because of domestic violence. When domestic violence victims enter housing authority overseen emergency accommodation the authority should engage the domestic violence service providers to ensure that any ongoing support requirements are provided on an outreach basis.

The guidance was introduced to support a partnership approach by statutory agencies in respect of the delivery of domestic violence services. This is particularly the case in relation to helping prevent and reduce the occurrence of domestic violence related homelessness and facilitating provision of long-term accommodation for victims of domestic violence.  Under the DSGBV Strategy my Department has committed to keep this policy and procedural guidance under review for updating and strengthening under action 1.6.4.

Action 2.3.3 of the DSGBV strategy, led by the Department of Justice, aims to develop clear pathways into longer term accommodation out of refuge and other forms of emergency accommodation which is linked to the Housing for All Strategy and an update and review of the 2017 guidance, outlined above, for housing authorities for assisting victims from a DSGBV perspective. One of the key actions under the strategy is to establish a new statutory DSGBV agency. The new agency will develop an inter-departmental plan setting out a framework for the development and delivery of additional safe accommodation, including step down facilities, for victims of domestic violence and for pathways into longer-term accommodation. My Department will participate in the design of the plan.