Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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380. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality for an update on the work of Cuan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13266/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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A central element of delivering on the Zero Tolerance goal of the Third National Strategy was the establishment, in January 2024, of Cuan, the statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) agency.

Cuan has a specific mandate to drive the implementation of the strategy across Government, bringing the expertise and focus required to tackle this complex social issue. Under Budget 2025, DSGBV funding was increased to €70 million, with increased funding for Cuan to €67 million.

The Government has set an ambitious target to double the number of refuge units in the country in the lifetime of the Zero Tolerance strategy. There are currently 159 refuge units, following the delivery of 12 new units last year. The new units include the state-of-the-art refuge in Wexford. Construction or refurbishment of another 54 units is planned for this year.

Cuan has also established multi-stakeholder inter-agency bodies including local service providers, local authorities, and housing bodies in 18 priority areas to progress this work as quickly as possible.

Cuan funds 78 organisations providing DSGBV services for victims, survivors and those at risk of DSGBV. It is now prioritising the creation of a robust, scalable funding model, and the development of data systems that track capacity and activity. This has been a priority programme of work that will mature this year.

Cuan is also currently running a number of awareness campaigns intended to galvanise nationwide action to end DSGBV, including:

• 'Serious Consequences', which deals with intimate image abuse.
• 'Always Here', which raises awareness of the services available for victims of DSGBV.
• 'Let’s Have the Consent Conversation', which aims to generate a national conversation on consent in sexual relationships.
• ‘Hardest Stories’, which addresses the hidden nature of DSGBV within society and was launched last month.