NWC welcomes move to allow survivors of domestic violence transfer between housing waiting lists

Published: Tuesday, June 30, 2026

The National Women’s Council and survivors have advocated for this change for some time

Press release for immediate release

The National Women’s Council (NWC) has warmly welcomed the announcement by Housing Minister James Brown that survivors of domestic abuse will be able to transfer time spent on local authority housing waiting lists to lists in different areas. NWC says the change will enable more survivors to access safe long-term housing, a key aspect of the recovery journey from domestic violence. Survivors themselves have long called for this change to enable them to start a safer life away from the perpetrator or closer to their support networks.

Executive Director of NWC, Corrinne Hasson, said:

“We know that any woman fleeing domestic violence can face homelessness or housing precarity. She may have to weigh up the need to get very far away from her abuser, to somewhere she may have family or other supports, against the fact that she will lose her place on the housing list. If she has children, these decisions are even more difficult. So, it’s extremely welcome to see this move which will allow her to keep her place on the housing list if she chooses to move to another area when seeking safety.”

NWC will await the detail of the protocol  to make further comment, particularly on how consistency will be ensured across local authorities and the standard of evidence which will be accepted as proof of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.  NWC also notes that this is a non-mandatory protocol  meaning it will be optional for local authorities to waive local connection requirements on a discretionary basis.  

Ivanna Youtchak, NWC Senior Policy Coordinator, said:

“We know not all survivors will have made or want to make a garda complaint; not all abuse will warrant a hospital trip; not all survivors will have stayed in a refuge, and not all survivors choose to leave their home when seeking safety. It will be absolutely crucial to take the feedback of survivors under consideration on this point. However, the commitment to provide information for local authority staff and Cuan-funded service providers, and the monitoring of the implementation of the protocol through quarterly data returns to ensure its impact are very welcome and should include a mechanism for feedback from survivors who have come through the process. Survivors also need other options to escape domestic violence, and alternative mechanisms should effectively enable women and children to stay safely in their homes while the perpetrator is removed instead.”

Corrinne Hasson continued:

“NWC is also looking forward to legislation to outlaw Sex For Rent Exploitation passing through its final stage in the Seanad this Thursday. This is another incredibly important moment for women and for survivors, and again highlights how the housing crisis and the violence against women crisis can intersect in horrifying ways for women. Anything that stands in the way of a woman being able to escape her abuser and build a new life for herself must now be re-evaluated. Survivors and their experiences must be central to this process.”

Ends/

For comment: Corrinne Hasson

Find here NWC’s research into Sex For Rent Exploitation: https://www.nwci.ie/images/uploads/NWC_Sex_For_Rent_Research.pdf

For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, NWC Senior Communications Coordinator, sineadn@nwci.ie

Notes:

About NWC

The National Women’s Council is the leading national representative organisation for women and women’s groups in Ireland, founded in 1973. We have over 190 member groups and a large and growing community of individual supporters.

The ambition of the National Women’s Council is an Ireland where every woman enjoys true equality and no woman is left behind. This ambition shapes and informs our work, and, with our living values, how we work.

We are a movement-building organisation rooted in our membership, working on the whole island of Ireland. We are also part of the international movement to protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights. Our purpose is to lead action for the achievement of women’s and girls’ equality through mobilising, influencing, and building solidarity. Find out more on www.nwci.ie