Sinn Féin spokesperson on Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Mairéad Farrell TD, has highlighted the institutional barriers in the housing system facing women who leave a violent relationship.

Her comments followed a Dáil debate on the government’s continued failures in housing.

Teachta Farrell said:

“Every month, there are new cases in my clinics of women leaving a home because of violence and abuse. It’s an epidemic.

“When someone finds the courage to walk away from domestic abuse, the state should be there to support them. Unfortunately, that is not the case for every woman, and for many it is a postcode lottery when it comes to finding accommodation after leaving an abusive home.

“Refuges do their best to accommodate each and every survivor, but when it comes time to move onto more long-term accommodation, the housing supply simply is not there. Some end up in sub-standard emergency accommodation, indeed some return to the violent home because they simply have nowhere else to go.

“I detailed the case of a woman who was unable to secure accommodation in Co Galway because there were no properties within the HAP limits. In fact, emergency accommodation is not available in Galway at present. This woman eventually took a tenancy in Mayo.

“Due to the current regulations on HAP, this woman would get the Mayo HAP rate but pay the Galway differential rent rate. That is a lower HAP rate and a higher differential payment in this case, so she is squeezed in every which way.

“Having seen many of those living in the refuge return to their abusers’ homes because they could not secure housing elsewhere or avail of emergency accommodation, this woman felt she had no option but to take that tenancy.

“This is one of the many institutional barriers being faced by women leaving violent relationships.

“Forcing survivors of domestic abuse back into the home of their abuser because of a failure to provide accommodation within an affordable limit is horrifying.

“It is further proof of the unwillingness of this government to remove the institutional barriers faced by women leaving abusive homes, and an indictment of their decades-long failure in housing policy.”