Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 May 2026
444. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether a single consolidated national dataset currently exists recording the number of persons refused emergency domestic violence accommodation due to lack of refuge capacity; and if not, whether their Department intends to establish such a reporting mechanism. [41159/26]
View answer445. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of occasions on which domestic violence refuges reached full capacity in each county in each of the past five years and to date in 2026. [41160/26]
View answer446. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any national waiting-list or overflow accommodation mechanism exists for persons unable to access domestic violence refuge accommodation due to capacity constraints. [41161/26]
View answer447. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether Cuan or his Department collects data on repeat requests for emergency domestic violence accommodation by the same individuals following initial refusal due to lack of capacity. [41162/26]
View answer453. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current occupancy rate of domestic violence refuge accommodation nationally and by county. [41170/26]
View answer454. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of women and children placed outside their home county due to a lack of refuge accommodation availability in each of the past three years. [41171/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 444 to 447, inclusive, 453 and 454 together.
Cuan, the national domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) agency funds 78 DSGBV organisations nationally, including 20 domestic violence refuges.
I am advised that, currently, Cuan does not collect data on the number of people who have sought refuge, the number of requests for safe accommodation refused, or the current occupancy rate of safe accommodation as this information is difficult for services to consistently validate and report.
Occupancy levels fluctuate on a day-to-day basis, making real time collection and reporting challenging. In addition, many support services do not have the capacity to gather this information. I have previously provided data to the Deputy on the number of units in each county - see PQ 38580/26. A unit can typically accommodate a family.
Through development of the National Service Development Plan (NSDP), Cuan is committed to collaborating with services and stakeholders to strengthen data collection processes. An essential element to the NSDP is the establishment of robust monitoring structures for service delivery and outcomes. This monitoring process will identify critical areas for service and sector development.
In addition, as part of the Zero tolerance strategy, Cuan is significantly increasing the capacity of safe emergency accommodation, with plans to double the number of units available nationally.
