Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said her aim is to have "potentially more" than 400 refuge beds under a new strategy to combat violence against women.
The strategy will be published on February 17th when it will be open to consultation from the sector and the public for three weeks, she told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.
At present, there are 140 refuge beds in the country with no refuge in nine counties. “We need multiples of that,” Ms McEntee said.
The Minister added her plan was to support victims as they go through the criminal justice system, explaining the strategy includes 52 clear actions, such as regional protection units and legal support for victims.
“We’re trying to fill the gaps where my department has responsibility,” she said.
Multi-agency approach
Work is underway with Tusla to compile an audit of services to identify where changes needed to be made, she said, adding the structure needs to be changed to include Tusla and the Departments of Justice, Housing, Children and Public Expenditure.
The nine counties which do not have refuges at present will get them, while capacity in existing facilities will be increased where there are shortages, Mr McEntee said. “Funding is not the issue,” she added.
Under the system at present, a service has to come forward and commit support before a refuge can be provided. The Minister said this much change and the system must be “quicker” to support those in need.
Ms McEntee said it should not have happened that in some cases the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) had been stopped when a woman left her home as a result of domestic violence. There should be better communication between councils and refuges, she added.
Ms McEntee said €9 million had been allocated to modernise the court system, part of which would entail educating judges and the legal profession to alert them to the fact that repeatedly adjourning cases was “re-traumatising” victims.
Guidelines for sentencing will also be examined, Ms McEntee said, adding: “I firmly believe that a sentence or punishment must match the crime. Domestic abuse is a serious crime.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800 341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01 554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information. Safe Ireland also outlines a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
