Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-12 ============================================================ Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel That we are still discussing this issue and having a motion on it is depressing. That 32,144 women contacted Women's Aid last year is horrendous. I welcome that the motion recognises that violence is a scourge on society and that, collectively, we have to tackle it. It is good to see words like that in the motion. I also recognise the steps that have been taken, such as the progression of the sex for rent legislation and the introduction last month of the violence travel supplement. I commend Senator Patricia Stephenson on all the work she has done on that and Senator Harmon on the work she has done on sex for rent legislation. It shows that we can make an impact. I commend the Government on addressing these issues. The recognition in the motion that there needs to be at least 280 refuge spaces by the end of the year is very welcome, but it is not enough. It is only fair that there should be a refuge space in each county. This is the third time since I was elected that I am raising the fact that we do not have refuge spaces in Sligo. The Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, DVAS, is working alongside Sligo County Council and Cuan to do everything it can to try to bring this forward, but it is taking too long. I raised this issue on International Women's Day last November and again in October when we discussed the free travel Bill. It is my duty to again raise this issue with the Minister. This has been going on for too long and we do not understand why. I have worked with DVAS and we do not understand why there is a delay. Are resources needed from local authorities? I thought at this stage things would have progressed further but they have not. My former colleagues in Sligo County Council wrote to the Department of justice in January to ask for an update and we still have not received one. I thank the Minister for giving me the opportunity to again raise this matter. I work with many young women in my constituency who have to leave their homes. I know the consequences for them of having to take a child with them and be judged for going into homelessness because they have to leave a violent situation. As Senator Tully has said, the Garda needs to be resourced. The children and victims of domestic abuse have to be the number one priority. There is still a fear among victims that in coming forward they will be judged and have to face the perpetrator in court, and will be judged for having to leave a situation and go into homelessness. If they are staying with a family friend, even when on the housing list, they should be recognised as being homeless but in a safe environment. I commend the Fianna Fáil Senators on bringing this motion forward. --- 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/2026-05-12/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:55+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-12