Éamon Ó Cuív on Carlow refuge plan and new delivery agency

The question relates to support for the establishment of a women's refuge in Carlow and Carlow's refuge was deemed a priority by Tusla, Emerging Accommodation Review in February 2022. The review supports an interagency approach to the planning and delivery of accommodation for victims of domestic violence. So the question relates to what has been done by the Department to provide these refuges in the counties that do not have a refuge at the moment. Thank you Deputy. When will we see results from that work? Thank you Deputy and thank you for raising this issue. I am very much aware that Deputy Manana O'Connor is very passionate about making sure that her own county and the community that she works with has refuge and has accommodation for women who are fleeing violence and who are fleeing instances of domestic abuse, those and their families. There are a number of streams of work underway at the moment. As I outlined previously, we are working to publish in the coming weeks the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. While that is a whole-of-government approach, a key element of that will be obviously the provision of domestic violence, refuge, accommodation. Specifically on that issue, we are building on the Tusla report that you have mentioned which was published only recently. An agreement was reached between my own department and the Minister for Children's Department, Roger Cogorman, and that the delivery of service and refuge accommodation and its development would move into justice so that we would have responsibility for the overall strategy, the delivery of policy, but also refuge accommodation. Since that publication and since engagement with the community and voluntary sector in recent weeks, we have established the interdepartmental high-level group. As you have mentioned, it is bringing together the Department of Justice, the Department of Children, Tusla, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and Housing. What we are doing is looking at the current structure as it exists, how refuge accommodation is currently delivered, the type of funding that is available, where the challenges are, how we can improve the old structure and system. And as part of that, I anticipate that not just the 56 spaces and areas that were identified in the Tusla review, but the increase in spaces that we have identified, bringing up to 82 plus two additional counties, that those specific areas will be engaged with by the interdepartmental or agency group in the coming weeks. Our long-term vision, as well as this specific focus in the short term, will be set out clearly in the coming weeks when we publish the action plan, when we publish the third national strategy, and I think all of this needs to be taken together. So, yes, it is about refuge and accommodation and providing that initial support, but it is about all of the other elements. It is about education, it is about making sure there is a whole of society response, it is about making sure every department has a role to play. And I have to say the response from every department in that regard has been very good to date, and I anticipate that we will have quite a significant number of actions in our strategy that do not just relate to the justice sector, but that relate to so many other areas. Thank you. I really welcome your reply, because there are a whole lot of issues that need to be addressed, some of them easier than others. And domestic violence support services and places of refuge must be easily accessible, yet at the moment there is no phone line or office for help on weekends and after hours. And domestic violence, as you know, does not work nine to five, it works often at other times of the day and night, and particularly in many cases at weekends and at night. So the question is, is there a plan to establish some kind of on-call service from wraparound services such as the local authorities when emergency accommodation is full? For example, in Carlow, there are two family emergency units, but due to COVID, only one of these is operational and this is nearly always full. There is nowhere for women fleeing violence, and they often have to return back to the same situation. So, Minister, what immediate actions are going to be taken in Carlow to try to deal with these massive gaps in the services? Thank you. So, I suppose what we need to do initially is to engage with the groups that are working on the ground in Carlow and that I know are ready to go in terms of progressing and opening up a new refuge and new accommodation. When I said that a decision had been taken to bring services into my own department, a subsequent decision was taken to establish an agency which would be responsible for the delivery of services. That agency will work very closely with the community and voluntary sector, many of whom are already delivering those services on the ground. The interdepartmental or interagency group at the moment, the work that they are doing will transfer into the, I suppose, the work of the agency, which will take time to establish because we have to put it on a statutory footing. So, the agency will be responsible for the delivery of service, making sure that the actions that are set out are required under the Tusler review, the gaps that exist, including in Deputy Murnan O'Connor's county, that all of those areas and those gaps are addressed, that the delivery of service is uniform so that no matter where you are in the county, if you seek help, you will get that kind of help. If you seek accommodation, that will be available to you, but also the ancillary supports that people need as well. It is not just about a roof over their head, it is about that psychological support, it is about supporting their children and it is about helping people move on. So, the agency will play a key role in that. Thank you, Minister. As you are aware and as I think you have recognised, Deputy Murnan O'Connor has been hugely involved in bringing stakeholders together and has engaged with them and with victims and the local authority. However, they have not had any contact yet from the Department, and also a site has been identified for refurbishment and another for purchase, and again, there is very little progress in even assessing the sites. So, Minister, what is going to happen on that? And furthermore, would you agree that it is awfully important to consider child protection measures once a family arrives in accommodation? Proper facilities are absolutely vital to make sure that people are starting again, not just getting a hospital bed. And also, a lot of people seeking refuge need your help finding a job and childcare, etc. So, will the wraparound services be provided? Thank you. Firstly, just to reassure the Deputy and Deputy Murnan O'Connor that there will be engagement from the interdepartmental group soon. Obviously, they are doing a body of work to try and identify how we can improve the overall process, and there will be engagement then with counties and with those who are already working on the ground. Secondly, it is really important that TUSLA is still hugely involved in this overall process. So, while the delivery of service is moving from TUSLA to this new agency, TUSLA will still have a huge role and a huge part to play. That is why they are on the interagency group, because as you have mentioned, so many women who are fleeing, and it is mainly women, they come with children as well, and they need to be able to provide that support for their children. Thirdly, I think it is around the wraparound supports and the services and everything else. So, there is a body of work, as I have said, not just looking at the actual physical built accommodation, the roof over their head, but how they can actually get on with their lives, how they can move on, how they can access other accommodation, what kind of supports their children might need. Because, obviously, this is a hugely traumatic experience for children, the focus on the third national strategy, there is a greater focus on children than I think there has ever been before, acknowledging that this has huge implications for them, but I thank the Deputy for his question.