Cutbacks force refuge to turn away 17 women

Meath Women's Refuge had to turn away 17 very vulnerable women and 21 children from April to July this year because of a huge cut in funding imposed by the HSE. The charity, which provides shelter, accommodation and counselling for women fleeing domestic abuse, says it is struggling to run the service on €10,000 less per month than last year and many more women may have to be turned away if the HSE continues to implement cutbacks. The HSE proposed a cut in funding of 30 per cent earlier this year and, while that cut has now been reduced to 18 per cent, Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services (MWRSS) says it will still be impossible to run the service with that level of funding, particularly as the HSE is still proposing a 30 per cent cut for 2010. "We are currently running on a budget of €10,000 less per month than last year," according to the charity's services manager, Deirdre Murphy. "We will have to turn many more away," she warned. "We have a very limited staff because of the cuts and we now only have a capacity for three women and nine children, while last year, we could have catered for five women and 15 children," she said. "This is really impacting on women. It is unjust that our clients, the most vulnerable women and children in Meath, are feeling the impact of the recession in this way," she added. Ms Murphy said that while they acknowledged that there were huge national budgetary issues, the level of cuts received by their service was disproportionate. "Across the country, similar services received on average a three to five per cent cut to the budget for 2009. In Meath, other voluntary and community services funded by the HSE in our region received, on average, a 10 per cent cut." Ms Murphy went on to say they would continue to highlight their case to the HSE, but if they don't receive a positive outcome soon, further service reductions will have to be made, which will result in more women and children being turned away. She explained that 16 women and their children who were being referred to the refuge by other agencies had to be refused accommodation because of lack of funding, while another woman and her children who turned up at the door of the refuge couldn't be accommodated. "We managed to get her accommodation in the shelter in Drogheda," she explained. Ms Murphy referred to HSE claims that charity's accounts showed they had substantial funds. "They are talking about the consolidated accounts of the whole organisation and the contingency fund which meets unplanned expenses as they arise. We were also holding funds at that time for the Homeless Forum," she explained. Mary O'Connor, chairperson of MWRSS, said they had made every effort to cut their costs across all sections of the organisation but that the reduction to their budget was having a significant impact on the service the refuge could provide to vulnerable women and children. "The minimum amount with which we can deliver a safe service to vulnerable women and children is €367,200, representing the proposed 10 per cut to our 2008 allocation," she wrote in a letter to the HSE. The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Joe Reilly, described the cuts as "savage". He remarked: "The proposed cutbacks are totally unacceptable and place more mothers and children in the frontline of domestic violence. Since 1996, an average of one woman per month is murdered, many in their own homes. Thousands of children have also been witness to or suffered domestic violence. It begs the question if we have already forgotten the thousands of children who suffered abuse in our institutions?" He said there were a number of questions the HSE must answer. "Why are the women and children of Meath and surrounding areas not entitled to the same level of services as women and children in other areas where the cut in funding is between three and five per cent? Does the HSE expect victims to remain in dangerous domestic situations? If not, what are they going to do about it? What services does the HSE propose to put in place for those victims that cannot access MWRSS in future due to cutbacks?" Cllr Reilly said the HSE should respond in a positive fashion to the call from MWRSS for further talks and agreement on the funding necessary to run a safe service for those suffering domestic abuse. "I am also asking members of the public to contact the HSE, local politicians and media to express support for those who need the service of such organisations as MWRSS. Perhaps those politicians and economists who so glibly demand cutbacks and slash and burn policies should realise that it is real people and projects such as MWRSS that suffer from their demands," he said. A spokesperson for the HSE it was notified by Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services on 30th July 2009 of the claim that it had to turn away 17 women and 21 children. "In this regard, a senior HSE official has been requested to liaise directly with Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services to establish the relevant facts," the spokesperson said. She added that the HSE was not the only source of funding available to Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services and, based on the 2008 audited accounts, the 2009 HSE allocation amounts to an overall reduction of 10.5 per cent in total income for Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services. She said the HSE applied a number of criteria to funding all organisations, such as service need, the model and level of service provided, resources available to organisations and the level of funding available. The spokesperason added that the extraordinary deterioration of the public finances meant little scope for increased funding to the health budget to respond to the increasing demands for public health services.