Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-06 ============================================================ Alison Comyn (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach I thank the Aire Stáit for coming to the House today. This is a very important issue. It is not a new issue. Unfortunately, it is long-standing. It is a new proposed solution to this problem because what we are doing now clearly is not working. There are still thousands of survivors leaving women's refuges with their children and they have nowhere to go. There are women and children throughout the country today who have done exactly what they are supposed to do. They have left abusive homes, sought safety in refuges and are trying to rebuild their lives. However, they are now facing a really uncertain future because there is simply nowhere for them to go. Quite often, the perpetrator is in the family home. That is the last place we want them to return to. They are falling between several stools. They may not be formally classified as homeless. They may not have priority on housing lists. In some cases, if they move to another jurisdiction to seek safety, they risk losing their place on those lists altogether, so they leave a place of safety and step into uncertainty. At the same time across towns and villages in every county, we have buildings lying vacant, upper floors unused, properties sitting idle and public buildings not reaching their full potential. A proposal today was made in Leinster House, led by Sarah Slazenger of Powerscourt Estate and supported by stakeholders from refuges in Bray, Drogheda and Dundalk as well as grassroots organisations such as the Soroptimists, the Women's Sheds and the Irish Countrywomen's Association, ICA, and 14 European and global ambassadors. They offered a practical way to bring these two realities together. Their proposal calls on local authorities to take a proactive role in identifying suitable vacant and underutilised buildings, particularly in town centres, and bringing them back into use as supported, move-on, post-refuge accommodation. It is a creative use of the vacant and derelict funding and grants that are already there, just not for commercial use. This includes not just private properties but also publicly owned buildings, including those under the remit of the HSE. Collaboration is needed between the Departments of housing, justice and possibly health as well. We know there are opportunities out there. We heard this morning of a HSE property in Enniskerry which could be considered as part of a pilot scheme. That is what we need to see. We need to get the ball rolling on whether this is possible because the model itself is really straightforward. Local authorities would work with property owners to secure long-term leases. Buildings would be refurbished to meet appropriate housing and safety standards and, crucially, accommodation would be linked with support services to ensure that women and children are supported as they rebuild their lives and become a valuable part of the community, taking a huge burden off the State. This approach has clear advantages. It is faster than new-builds, it is cost-effective and it supports town centre regeneration, which everybody is calling for at the moment. It also provides accommodation in locations where essential services are already in place. Most importantly, it addresses the gap that exists after refuge care. We are hearing that thousands of women do not have supported after-refuge care. They do not have accommodation, which means that other women and victims of domestic abuse are unable to enter those refuges. It is creating a logjam. We heard directly this morning from those working on the ground or at the coal face, in the refuges. We heard from Soroptomists and Women's Sheds, as I mentioned, who are working with these women, as well as from international representatives. They told us that this gap is one of the most urgent issues that everyone is facing at the moment. After the refuges the women are ready to move on but there is nowhere for them to go. This proposal is not abstract. It is practical, scalable and rooted in what is already available. What is needed now is co-ordination and collaboration between the local authorities, the Departments of housing, justice and health and agencies such as the HSE. Where buildings are sitting idle, we have a responsibility to ensure they are used to serve the greater good. I ask that this model be actively examined and progressed, with pilot projects identified and delivered because we cannot continue to accept a situation where women and children leave safety only to face further uncertainty. We have the buildings and we have the need. What we need to do now is bring all of the elements together and make sure that we are providing after care and accommodation for those in dire need. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-06/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-06