Joe O'Reilly: Urgent call for a refuge in County Cavan

At the outset I thank the Comhairleach for selecting this matter and secondly can I welcome you Minister of the House and say that your presence in the House as a senior minister on this issue is an indication of your commitment to the whole area of dealing with domestic violence and I'm very heartened by that fact in itself irrespective of how we get on on the issue. I want to speak to and highlight an urgent gap in essential services for women and children in County Cavan. Despite national commitments to expand refuge capacity and strengthen support for those fleeing domestic violence, Cavan remains without a purpose-built refuge facility. Across the country we have made significant progress in improving responses to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Yet the absence of a dedicated refuge in Cavan stands in stark contrast to the community's need. Women in crisis should not have to travel long distances across county boundaries or face uncertainty at the very moment they are seeking safe shelter. Now if a woman in Cavan needs now at the moment if a woman in Cavan needs emergency protection she has to leave the county to find it. That is the simple truth. For many women that journey is not easy. It means leaving behind their community and whatever support network they have. It adds pressure at a time when they already face enormous fear and uncertainty. We also must recognize that providing this refuge is not just about responding to emergencies. It is about sending a clear message about the kind of country we want to be. Cavan is a place that values community, fairness and looking out for one another. A refuge reflects those values in a very real way. It shows that when someone is in danger we do not turn away or expect them to manage on their own. We step up. We put the supports in place and we make sure that help is available close to home where it is needed most. We are developing safe homes and they are welcome and will help. However this is not enough on their own. A county of Cavan size and its strong communities should not be without a refuge. It is a basic service that people expect to be available locally just as it is in other parts of the country. Local organizations Minister are doing incredible work. They are supporting families often in very difficult circumstances but they cannot continue to bear the full weight of this issue without the proper infrastructure in place. They need a facility that provides the space and capacity to respond quickly when someone is in danger. This is about providing a safe secure place for women and children when they have nowhere else to go. It is about giving certainty in a moment when the world has been turned upside down and it is about ensuring that Cavan is not left behind as national services expand. People in Cavan deserve the same access to protection as anyone else in the country and with the right focus and decisions we can finally deliver the refuge our county has needed for far too long. I look forward to your response on this Minister as it's a real human issue. This is not some fanciful notion. It's very important on the ground. I want to start by thanking Senator O'Reilly for raising this very important commencement matter. Obviously it's a huge part of my portfolio and showing that there is a full response to the scourge of domestic violence and as Senator O'Reilly will know one of the avenues down which I must go as a response is ensuring that we do have refuge spaces and safe accommodation for women and predominantly it is women who are fleeing domestic violence so that they can be accommodated in the short term. Obviously the policy and respect to this area is something that is worked through the statutory agency that's been set up and it's under the control of my department. That's the statutory agency known as COON and COON is engaging with various stakeholders including approved housing bodies, the Department of Housing and the Housing Agency and local authorities to facilitate local action and support service development and the delivery of refuges and safe accommodation throughout the country. As Senator O'Reilly has indicated there is no refuge safe accommodation in Cavan at present and I suppose when I started in the job 15 months ago one of the things I wanted to look at, one of the things that stood out to me was that there was no refuge in Cavan Monaghan which is presented as a constituency but as Senator O'Reilly will know is a very broad geographical area. There has as he will know been progress in respect of the Cavan Monaghan region in respect of a proposal for a refuge site in Monaghan. The capital assistance scheme stage one application for a refuge site in Monaghan was approved by the Department of Housing last October. Work is ongoing towards submitting a stage two application in Monaghan which will include further detail and costings on the full extent of works that will be required. The CAS process takes an average 75 weeks with construction taking between 15 to 18 months and Safe Ireland is the lead approved housing body on this development in Monaghan. I have to say that it's also become apparent to me however that now with sounding the fact that we have are down the pathway of having a refuge in Monaghan there is it is increasingly apparent to me that we do need one in Cavan as well and I'm advised that CUN under my control is currently considering future options for potential refuge provision in Cavan in parallel with progression of the refuge site identified in Monaghan and following engagement by CUN with service providers and other stakeholders including Cavan County Council there is an urgent need for refuge not just in Monaghan but in Cavan as well. I think it is an important step in terms of achieving what Senator O'Reilly and indeed other representatives from Cavan Monaghan, Brendan Smith, Niamh Smith have sought in respect of it as well that I make that statement and I want Senator O'Reilly to know that I have written to my colleague Minister James Brown of the Department of Housing requesting that a refuge for Cavan be prioritised in the next phase of refuge development. This will ensure that we are not delaying the provision of refuge services for victims of domestic violence. Adding Cavan to the priority list of developments will allow for site selection and the planning process to commence. So I think it is a positive answer I've been able to give to Senator O'Reilly like a decision has been made that in fact we do need a refuge centre in Cavan as well as Monaghan and I suppose now that I've written to Minister Brown that process has commenced. Obviously I can't guarantee that we will have a refuge in Cavan in a very short period of time but the process has commenced and it's a bit behind what's happening in Monaghan but unquestionably the case that the direction of travel for me and the government is to ensure that we have a refuge in Monaghan and Cavan. Thank you Minister. Again thanks for being here and your overall proactive approach. I'm absolutely delighted with this response in that you have clearly and publicly and on the record of the House and I know that you don't do that lightly committed to delivering this project to Cavan and that you have put processes in place to so do and given being in touch with Minister Brown on the issue. I'm extremely happy that this will be the case. There's no need to repeat the argument only to say that it's so important for those victims and it's so important that within their own communities and with whatever support they can access otherwise that this facility be in their county and I'm just very happy about your response Minister. I'm grateful that it's going to come on stream and all I can say as a focal square I feel like is that I would just urge you Minister and knowing your farm I think I needn't worry on this front that you make sure it happened as quickly as possible. Thank you. Thanks very much Senator and you're right it's important that representatives such as yourself for areas keep the pressure on politicians and ministers such as myself to ensure that these commitments are followed through it but I think the fact that the decision is made of written to Minister Brown that clearly the pathway has been commenced. I should also point out as well as the development of the new refuge in Monaghan to serve the Cavan Monaghan region both Cavan County Council and Monaghan County Council have committed to the allocation of three units from their social housing stock which will deliver an additional six safe homes across the region and CUN is now working with Safe Ireland to finalise operational and staffing costs all six units will become operational this year and those safe homes are very important as well they're places where women fleeing domestic violence can go. Safe Ireland Cavan Monaghan is the primary domestic violence service provider in both Cavan and Monaghan. It's the lead domestic violence service provider progressing the development of new refuge facility for the region as part of Zero Tolerance and I'm advised that Safe Ireland is working with the stakeholder group to create a solid infrastructure and a coherent connected response across both counties. So I'll keep working on it Senator and no doubt you'll be raising it again. We'll keep close progress on its development.