“Fast-track approval” sought for new domestic violence refuge

With Athlone-based domestic violence refuge service, Esker House, currently in negotiations for a new premises, a call has been made for “fast-track approval” for the project.

The call was made by Fianna Fail deputy, Robert Troy, who raised the issue in the Dail recently and told members that “even if Esker House increased its capacity, it would not be enough.”

Outlining the stark reality of refuge provision for the victims of domestic violence in Athlone and surrounding parts of the Midlands, Deputy Troy told the Dail that last year alone, Esker House assisted 68 women and children with refuge and emergency B&B accommodation, while 1,014 helpline calls were answered and 268 requests for refuge were received.

“Esker House is in negotiations for new premises and I hope that, when the negotiations are concluded and Esker House submits its application, that application will be fast-tracked and approved,” he told the Dáil debate.

The Fianna Fail TD was also critical of what he described as various arms of the State “acting in silos” and called for “a cross-governmental response” to the issue of domestic violence which he said was “a major issue in our society.”

As an example of the lack of joined-up thinking on this issue, he told the Dáil that when Esker House rings Westmeath County Council about a person who needs housing “that person is not a priority on the housing list and is left languishing in a refuge centre.”

As the father of a young daughter, he added that he dreads to think of “what challenges are out there.”

“We in the honoured position we hold in this House should ensure that everything is done to minimise the risks in society,” concluded Deputy Troy. At a meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District in February of this year, Deirdre Berry, Head of Services at Esker House, made a direct appeal to elected representatives for support in the bid to secure a site for a new purpose-built refuge centre,. She also pointed out that the current refuge provision in Athlone is “the only such facility for the entire Midlands region.”

In response to a question in the Dáil last December, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said 98 refuge units would be delivered “by the end of 2025” in the priority locations identified in the Zero Tolerance Strategy on domestic, sexual and gender based violence (DSGBV), along with a further 19 “additional and ungraded units” by the end of the strategy. Westmeath has been deemed a priority area for the provision of additional refuge places under the under the new government strategy. The county currently has five family refuge places, and has been earmarked for a total of eight places.

However, Deirdre Berry told Athlone councillors at February's municipal district meeting that, while plans for a new purpose-built refuge centre in Athlone are “already down on paper” the lack of a suitable site to build on “is really holding the project up”.

She agreed that “a whole community-wide response is needed” to tackle the issue of domestic violence both locally and nationally. She also added that the Westmeath service is used by a very diverse range of clients encompassing “everyone from guards to nurses to teachers.”