A new domestic violence refuge has officially opened in Co Wexford.
The €6.5 million refuge, which is funded through the Capital Assistance Fund and Cuan, consists of 12 family units.
Wexford is the first "priority" location out of 18 to complete construction on a new domestic violence refuge as part of the Government's work under Zero Tolerance, the Third National Strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
The strategy, launched in 2022, aims to double the number of refuge units to 280.
When it was launched, the Zero Tolerance strategy proposed the fastest ever expansion of refuge spaces.
Completion of the Wexford refuge by 2024 was one of the "milestones" in the strategy along with the completion of spaces in Dundalk, Co Louth and Navan, Co Meath this year.
The Wexford facility was developed by the county’s women’s refuge in co-operation with Wexford County Council.
It is located close to Wexford Rape Crisis Centre, which will provide wraparound services for the women and children who use the refuge.
The building includes a fully accessible disabled unit. Each unit can accommodate a family of one mother and her children.
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The CEO of Cuan, the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency said the opening of the new refuge is a testament to "the best of community cooperation".
Stephanie O'Keeffe said it will provide refuge and respite to families while also providing therapeutic and other supports.
Most importantly, she said, it is a community hub that has outreach facilities and services for people in the community who are experiencing domestic violence but do not need emergency accommodation.
Ms O'Keeffe said the refuge is part of phase one of a plan to double refuge spaces by 2026.
Another 12 facilities will be undergoing construction by the end of the year with another 80 undergoing funding approval and another 19 approved for funding.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said that complaints about domestic abuse are increasing but efforts are also increasing to encourage people to come forward and seek help.
"We are trying to really communicate with people who are in this situation, and we are targeting people through our 'Always Here' campaign to say to them that supports are available, and we know that we have a whole range of service providers across the state providing expert services in this area.
"We are trying to communicate and reassure people that they will be believed, that they will be taken seriously, that society stands with them, and that we contend condemn the behavior of perpetrators."
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Minister for Housing and Local Government Darragh O'Brien and Minister of State James Browne opened the centre.
Ms McEntee said she believes Ireland is dealing with "an epidemic" when it comes to domestic violence.
She said more people are coming forward to report incidents and seek help.
"That's why we're seeing a rise. We're focusing on it as an issue. We're not leaving it behind closed doors. We're bringing it to the fore."
As a result, Ms McEntee said there is a need to expand services and to provide safe space for many women, children and men who are victims.
"At the moment, we don't have a space for everyone who needs it, that's why I've set an ambitious target to double the number of refuge spaces within the lifetime of this strategy."
Ms McEntee said she believes that target will be reached.
"We'll have new spaces being built, starting this year, much more planned for next year and of course, right across the country there's project's been developed and that I hope we can get to shovel ready and indeed off the ground as soon as possible," she said.
Asked about what will be done to address the lack of refuge facilities in nine counties, the Minister said her ambition is to "make sure, irrespective of where a person lives, that they will have access to that safe space, to a refuge, to the supports that they need, and that includes areas where they don't currently have that support".
"Work is continuing apace through Cuan, our domestic violence agency, and this will be the largest scaling up that we've ever seen across the entire country," Ms McEntee said.
"The funding is there, the supports are there, the ambition is there, the teams are there on the ground and here's a huge amount work happening to make sure that we can bring this to realisation as soon as possible," she added.
Domestic abuse services 'tired' of explaining scale of issue
People who work in organisations providing services to victims of domestic abuse are "tired" of explaining the scale of the national problem the Chief Executive of Safe Ireland has said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One, Mary McDermott called for open discussion and education to combat the shame and secrecy surrounding abuse.
She called for a continued national response to better understand the complex nature of domestic violence and the development of county-level plans to help address the problem.
Refuges are "hugely important", Ms McDermott said, but added that they are not the sole solution to domestic violence.
"For those of us who work in this sector, we are tired describing the problem. An obsession with scale in numbers is only one part of the issue.
"We need a national response to it. And while I understand the need to say how many, where, and so on and so forth, it comes in different forms.
"It is a large-scale social problem. It is never reducible to poor personal choice. Perpetrators weaponise anything to control."
Under the Istanbul convention, Ireland aims to increase refuge spaces to 250-280 units, with a long-term goal of 525 units, Ms McDermott said.
However, she said the number of people who seek refuge in their services is just "the tip of the iceberg".
"It's really important that we understand that refuge is not the answer to domestic violence.
"It is the tip of the iceberg. Many people will not go to refuge, nor is refuge the appropriate place for them, depending on their needs."
She welcomed the establishment of a new agency by Minister McEntee to address the problem.
"We are hoping that that agency will have the scope and capacity to have cross-departmental power, but also, then, importantly for us, a cascade down to local level.
"We need county plans, county development plans, including domestic violence and sexual violence response plans."
The new centre in Wexford will make a "huge difference", not only for women, but also to the community.
"It's going to be a place where the awareness and the skills and the capacity of community to respond to domestic violence will be enhanced."
"The staff there are trained in a range of support services that are needed - outreach, community, child intervention, accompaniment, the whole range that is needed to provide a really specialist domestic violence service."
