![\"Domestic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages_180135142.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMany charities have had to turn people away due to a lack of space in refuges and safe houses\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in a violent marriage for years. I was in and out of it. We had eight children together, so I would go back to him out of fear and wanting to get my children back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you\u2019re dealing with the aftermath and trauma of the violence \u2013 always thinking he\u2019s out there trying to kill you. \u201cI feared the worst \u2013 I always feared I\u2019d end up dead, that he\u2019d kill me in the end.<\/p>\n
“The home never felt safe, it was always his. Even when he wasn\u2019t under the roof, it was always his home \u2013 I always felt trapped.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Domestic violence survivors are at risk of homelessness after leaving an abusive situation or a refuge. Photo: Getty<\/p>\n
News in 90 Seconds – May 4th 2026<\/p>\n
Mary (52) spent many of those years \u00adliving in refuges and council-supported emergency housing in Kildare (where she is originally from) and Maynooth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always living in poverty, depending on social welfare. I was on the housing list, lived in refuges or mobile homes and I would live with my mother when things got really bad,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it came to the stage where I had too many kids, I couldn\u2019t bring them all. I had to leave some of them there with my husband.<\/p>\n
He was stalking me, financially breaking me, mentally controlled me<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when we were separated, we had to go to court, I had to go to him for the children, he even had access to the lone parent allowance I was getting because some of the older children were with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was stalking me, financially breaking me, mentally controlled me and I had no voice. I always feared what he was going to do next. I was watching my back all the time because he had people watching me, he knew everything about my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s husband died several years ago. After moving in and out of refuges, she was rehoused by her local council in the home in which she has now lived for six years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI call that day six years ago my \u2018Freedom Day\u2019. Away from the power that my husband had over me, my children had over me, my parents had over me \u2013 I was starting to listen to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stayed for some months with [domestic violence charity] Sonas, then got the home I\u2019m in today and I haven\u2019t looked back since,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important thing I needed in this process was mental health services \u2013 I\u2019m still getting help for what I\u2019ve been through, the depression and suicidal thinking. That fear has been ingrained in me for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, People Before Profit councillor Kay Keane called on South Dublin County Council (SDCC) to allocate housing to victims of domestic violence after Saoirse Domestic Violence Services reported turning away 80 women due to a lack of space.<\/p>\n
In 2024, 491 women had to be refused due to lack of space.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe victims are left homeless or have to go back to their abusers, which I find to be very disquieting. There are only around 162 spaces available nationwide for refuge, far below the 576 spaces needed to meet international standards,\u201d Ms Keane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictims are left with no safe options rather than to enter homelessness. It is impossible for victims to flee violent and abusive relationships, many are returning to their abuser.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fiona O\u2019Malley, CEO of Sonas, said that at least 1,500 women and children were supported by the organisation each year. However, 300 women had to be turned away last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt depends on availability \u2013 we don\u2019t always have the space. We have four refuges with 20 units each and around 90 safe houses across county Dublin right now,\u201d Ms O\u2019Malley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA refuge has security, staff working 24\/7 with massive gates and electric fencing. We assess the women who come to us to see if they need a refuge or a safe home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost 70pc of the women the organisation works with are in social housing or supported by local authorities.<\/p>\n
Sonas is working with Cuan, the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency under the Department of Justice, to introduce a fifth refuge in the Dublin area by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
Refuges and safe homes can only support women for a few months,<\/p>\n
The organisation is now running a campaign calling on the Government and local authorities to change council housing contracts to remove the perpetrators of domestic violence, instead of the victims and children.<\/p>\n
\u201cRefuges and safe homes can only support women for a few months, after that they run the risk of ending up in homelessness,\u201d Ms O\u2019Malley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the case of a separation or divorce, the judge will look at a woman who might be in homeless services by that stage and decide it\u2019s not appropriate for children to go into homelessness, so children end up going back into the homes where the violence occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mary, finding a new home has meant helping other women like her and taking important steps towards freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s freedom coming my way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
*Name changed upon request<\/p>\n
If you have been affected by the issues in this article, call Sonas at 1800 222 223, Women\u2019s Aid at 1800 341 900, call Samaritans free on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie<\/p>\n
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many charities have had to turn people away due to a lack of space in refuges and safe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9604,9691,615,61,60,43,48241],"class_list":["post-431408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-azmia-riaz","tag-department-of-justice","tag-dublin","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-people-before-profit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}