Sinn Féin TD for Galway West Mairéad Farrell has welcomed commitments from Taoiseach Micheál Martin to pursue implementing a protocol which would allow survivors of domestic abuse to more easily access housing services from a new local authority, should they need to move after fleeing an abusive partner.
The commitment was made by the Taoiseach following a question from Deputy Farrell in the Dáil on Tuesday.
Deputy Farrell said that this is an issue that she has been raising with local councils, in the Dáil and in letters to the Minister for Housing for months.
“It was very encouraging to finally get a positive response from the Taoiseach after raising it again this week in the Dáil.“As it stands, women who need to move counties after leaving an abusive relationship, have to start a new housing application with the local council.
“Applications take 12 weeks to process and they lose any years they have built up on the previous county’s housing list.“I am asking for Government to direct local authorities to work together to allow survivors to immediately access supports in the county they have moved to and allow them to keep their record from a previous housing application when they move.
She added that this would remove institutional barriers that keep women trapped in abusive relationships for longer.“Several women have come to me who are from Galway originally and moved to a different county when they got into a relationship that unfortunately turned abusive.
“Now they have returned home where their support system is and cannot get housing services as they have to make a new housing application.
“In some cases, women have been advised to return to the county they have just fled from. We know that women return to an abusive partner seven times on average before they are able to leave for good.
“Our public services must to do everything in their power to make it possible for a women to stay away once they have left. That is why this simple change is so important,” she concluded.
