Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The expenditure by my Department in relation to Domestic Violence Refuges is for the capital development costs of new refuges. Operational expenditure in relation to refuges and related services is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice.

My Department provides funding to local authorities under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) towards the development of Domestic Violence Refuges and other facilities such as ‘safe houses’. The local authorities, in turn, support the local organisations bringing forward the Refuge developments. The expenditure in this area in the years requested was €316,345 in 2021, €290,114 in 2022 and €4,353,667 in 2023.

The sharp increase in expenditure from 2023 reflects the increased priority set out for this area following from the Government’s launch of ‘Zero Tolerance: The 3^rd National Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Strategy’. It has set ambitious targets for additional refuge accommodation, aiming to double the number of spaces nationally over the lifetime of the strategy.

Currently there are fifteen priority areas nationally in which Domestic Violence Refuges are in various stages of development, ranging from the Wexford Women’s Refuge which will be completed this summer, to early stage engagements with Domestic Violence service providers and local authorities in other priority areas.

The final expenditure in 2024 will depend on the level of advancement achieved by year end across the fifteen priority locations. Domestic Violence Groups are working with local authorities across these areas on site identification and acquisition, design, planning, procurement and commencing construction on site or, in the case of Wexford, completion on site and opening of the new facility. Given the breath of activity underway, I anticipate a further notable increase in 2024 expenditure over the 2023 figure.