Meath West TD Aisling Dempsey said Fianna Fáil’s housing plan delivers practical supports and real hope for domestic violence survivors.
She highlighted that the "Delivering Homes, Building Communities" plan addresses a longstanding gap, the lack of safe housing, that often makes leaving abusive situations even harder.
A key element of the plan is a new protocol allowing domestic violence survivors to transfer their social housing waiting time to another local authority.
Speaking today, Deputy Dempsey said:
“For the first time, a housing plan fully recognises how closely domestic violence and homelessness are linked and sets out practical steps to respond.
"This recognition opens up the next step in rebuilding lives. It’s a practical measure, but also one that shows empathy and understanding.
“We know that a lack of safe housing has made leaving an abusive home an even greater challenge for many.
"By putting stronger supports in place and making the system more flexible, this plan gives people a clearer route to safety.
"It is exactly the kind of compassionate, practical, grounded approach our housing system needs.”
Ireland's leading domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid noted that this is the first time a Housing Plan has recognised the significant links between domestic violence and homeslessness.
Giving "Delivering Homes, Building Communities" a cautious welcome, Women's Aid has said the inclusion of this measure, to transfer previous time spent on a social housing list, was a key priority in its submissions to Minister James Browne TD.
According to Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid:
“It is significant that the new Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness explicitly acknowledges domestic violence as a driver of homelessness and goes further than previous plans in addressing this issue.
“The commitment to developing a protocol with local authorities to ensure survivors can transfer time spent on a social housing waiting list is especially welcome.”