Donnelly calls for more funding for domestic abuse services

Northside Sinn Féin councillor Angela Donnelly has said that domestic abuse services are underfunded in Ireland.

The Ongar councillor put forward a motion at an October 2 area committee meeting, which was passed by local councillors.

The motion compels the Chief Executive of Fingal County Council to write to the Minister for Housing to seek funding for transitional housing.

It is hoped that the extra funding would help protect victims of domestic abuse in the Dublin 15 area.

Donnelly said that rising levels of violence against women, coupled with a chronic shortage of homes, are “fuelling a crisis of domestic violence that is trapping women and children.”

“It’s important to say that domestic violence is not confined to violence against women, but stats confirm that it is mainly women who are affected.”

“These women are ultimately trapped between two crises, as victims of both gender-based violence, and a failed housing system; we need more refuge spaces, but we also need more long-term housing solutions for women and children.”

Donnelly said that there is an “over focus” on refuges and emergency crisis accommodation and that the government are not addressing the root causes of domestic abuse.

She noted that there are more refuge centres than there were in 2022 (nearly 300, compared to 140 in 2022), but she said there is no longer-term recovery plan for victims of domestic abuse.

“The lack of which forces women, in some instances, to return to their abuser, as the maximum stay in a refuge is 6 to 12 weeks,” she noted.

The domestic violence charity Sonas has converted 24 houses from transitional housing to refuge centres, a move that should be reversed according to Donnelly.

“There is no medium to long-term support available for those women because there are little to no transitional homes available; this issue needs to be highlighted and I hope passing this motion and writing to the Minister for Housing will raise awareness of this very important issue,” she said.

Despite government advances on the issue, Donnelly stated, “there is still a serious lack of funding.”

“When Sonas builds a refuge, the minimum time it takes is 5 years. So, this is a crisis, it’s getting worse and worse, and we do need to act quickly.”