A central element of delivering on the Zero Tolerance goal of the Third National Strategy was the establishment of Cuan, the statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) agency, which I officially opened at the start of this year.
Cuan has a specific mandate to drive the implementation of the strategy across Government, bringing the expertise and focus required to tackle this complex social issue.
Under Budget 2024, in excess of €7.9m in additional funding for combatting DSGBV has been allocated to my Department.
This represents a significant increase and will support the implementation of the Zero Tolerance plan - including through the new agency, which has an overall budget of €59m for 2024.
A key action of the Third National Strategy is the doubling of refuge space numbers available during the lifetime of the Strategy to 280 refuge spaces.As the Deputy is aware, prior to the establishment of Cuan, an Inter-Departmental Group was set up to manage and oversee progress on the delivery of additional refuge units. This Committee was initially chaired by the Department of Justice, with representation from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Tusla and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion and Youth. This Committee is now chaired by Cuan.Through this Committee, Cuan and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will continue to assist the development of local structures operating in the priority areas identified in the Third National Strategy and will support their advancement of the new refuges, with capital funding support continuing via the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.The Agency also has a dedicated team in place to support the development of domestic violence refuges.
As this question relates to work being carried out by Cuan to oversee the implementation of the Third National Strategy, including the provision of accommodation for victims of DSGBV, I have referred it to the agency for direct response.
