Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has welcomed a Government commitment to increase the number of domestic violence refuge spaces, but says that even with the increase, we will not have nearly enough for a population our size.

Teachta Crowe said:

“There are currently only 140 domestic violence refuge spaces in the state, including nine counties without a refuge. While I welcome the Minister Helen McEntee’s recent commitment to introduce an additional 82 beds, it still falls far short of what is required.

“Those 140 spaces only represent about 30% of what the total number should be for a population our size. 29,717 people contacted Women’s Aid in 2020 alone.

“We need to know when these spaces will be opened and what areas they will serve. There are whole counties that do not have a single bed and that simply isn’t good enough.

“The Department of Justice spends less than €1m per year on refuge support across the state. That is a critical failure in the Department funding model and it must be rectified.

“We need clear timelines from the Minister on her plans, and we need to see a prioritisation of the counties with no refuge as a matter of urgency.”