Brendan Smith urges refuge centre for Cavan Monaghan

Thank you very much, I'll ask Can Corley. Minister, I speak tonight specifically again to raise the issue of the non-provision of a Refuge Centre in Cavan Monaghan for victims of domestic violence. This is an issue I've raised through parliamentary questions and in other Dáil debates over the past number of years and unfortunately little or no progress has been made in that respect. Women who are victims of domestic violence from the Cavan Monaghan area, wide geographical areas, you're fully aware Minister, widespread to rural counties, they have to source emergency specialist accommodation in other areas and particularly in the neighbouring counties of Louth and Meath. And I'm fully aware that those particular centres in those counties are under huge pressure as they are. And women in the north-west of County Cavan, they have to seek accommodation or specialist help in Sligo. So if people from County Cavan either go to a centre in Sligo or to Lowther Meath, if they're successful in getting access, and similarly in our neighbouring county of Monaghan, people have to access services in Lowther Meath either. So that's not acceptable. But I want to put on the record, as Deputy Try did, the great work done by so many voluntary organisations, and I know that they get some support from government through the departments, but they depend very heavily on fundraising as well. Terman Domestic Violence Service is located at County Monaghan, and it provides a range of community-based services for victims of domestic violence, including emotional and practical support, advocacy and accompaniment to court and support there as well. And Terman also provides an outreach service based in Cavan Town. And I just want to take the opportunity to commend the people who founded Terman, the people who work there, and the people who support it in its necessary fundraising as well. Minister, you're very well aware that in line with the requirements under the Istanbul Convention, commitments have, and also commitments made under the Second National Strategy, that there is a need to expand and commitment to expand the regional distribution of services, including accommodation services. I had correspondence from Tusla following questions to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and Tusla outlined to me clearly that they have concerns about the unevenness in the availability of specialist emergency domestic violence accommodation across the country. And that includes the nine counties, including my own two counties in Cavan and Monaghan, that don't have a specialist service. Now, I welcome the fact that Tusla has had some contact with stakeholders in the Cavan and Monaghan area to explore potential options on taking forward provision of emergency accommodation in the area. And I would appeal to you, Minister, through your own department and through the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, to ensure that the adequate funding is provided to Tusla, that we have practical progress made and centres identified and centres provided and the necessary support staff put in place as well. I think nationally, Tusla is undertaking domestic violence accommodation provision review, and I hope that that review will result in additional domestic violence safe accommodation services being provided, where there is a total lacuna at the minute and a total lack of services. Now, Tusla, unfortunately, in the last correspondence I had indicated that there will not be funding available for significant service developments in 2020, but the Agency will continue to plan towards and resource future developments in line with commissioning priorities. Minister, I have been hearing this type of commitment and promise that services will be provided. I want to appeal to you again, and I specifically highlight the huge geographical area along the border of the two counties of Cavan and Monaghan, literally going practically from the west to the east coast of the country, and we don't have a service in any part of either county. We're depending on services, as I said earlier, in neighbouring counties, that are under pressure as they are. So I would appeal to you again, Minister, to ensure that areas like Cavan and Monaghan are prioritised when future developments and future services are being provided. I listened to my colleague, Deputy James Brown, speak earlier, and he just quoted the statistic again that one in four women in Ireland experience physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner. And that in the last 32 years, 126 women have been killed by a current or former partner. Those statistics are really startling, they're frightening, they're woeful and they're desperate to think that there has been so much violence inflicted on women over the past number of years. And unfortunately that continues, I'm sure as we speak as well, violence that is totally reprehensible. Thousands of women and children are being turned away from refuge centres due to a lack of space and professional support services. And it's an area that we need to prioritise for investment. And we have, as I said earlier, the nine counties that have no refuge places at all. And allied to that is the housing crisis that exists at the present time as well. I want to say, and I heard other speakers in this debate talk about the bravery and the courage demonstrated by women who have spoken out about their experiences. That has to be a harrowing experience in itself to go public and outline their own experiences. So we owe those people a debt of gratitude. And the one way we could pay gratitude back to them in some way would be to ensure that adequate services are provided. And that we ensure that people who are suffering, who are suffering through domestic violence, that at least they have a resort to accommodation and support services when they need it, when they're vulnerable. And I would appeal to you, Minister, and again I'm being parochial, but I'm specifically interested in my own two counties, that I'm aware of the difficult issues there, and I'm very anxious that we make progress in providing necessary services and accommodation.