No refuge in Nenagh: Here are the domestic violence services available in north Tipperary

Last week, the Tipperary Star reported on a case at Nenagh District Court where the judge was informed there was no domestic violence shelters in the Nenagh area.

The case concluded with the judge ordering the defendant to pay a donation to Adapt Domestic Abuse Services in Limerick, which do provide refuge.

This week we spoke to Ascend’s Kathleen Maher and explored some of the services available to those who need assistance.

ASCEND
Ascend Domestic Violence Service are based in Nenagh and are part of the North Tipperary Development Company.

Ascend Manager Kathleen Maher told the Tipperary Star what they do.

“We welcome any opportunity to highlight the work of Ascend Domestic Abuse Service for Women.

“We are the service for women in north Tipperary since 2000.

“We provide one-to-one support, helpline, outreach support, Personal Development group, Healthy Relationships programme in schools, court accompaniment to courts in north Tipperary, safe house provision, awareness raising and interagency work across north Tipperary.

“While it is true Ascend do not have a shelter, they can assist with emergency accommodation. We also work closely with our colleagues in other refuges across the country. While we do not have a refuge in north Tipperary, we do have a safe house locally- a valuable and positive collaboration with Tipperary County Council.

“While this does not fully address the emergency housing need in terms of domestic violence, we also work closely with local agencies and sit on the HAT ( Homeless Action Team) with Tipperary County Council,” said Ms Maher.

Additionally, Ascend run awareness campaigns like the One Million Stars Tipperary project launched for International Women’s Day 2022.

“We did a comprehensive awareness programme in November last year during the 16 Days of Action and launched our poster -16 Facts for North Tipperary for 16 Days and have a large social media presence across all platforms. This story reinforces the need to bring more awareness to our work,” said Ms Maher.

The Ascend helpline is 0505-23-999.

An Garda Síochána
At the December meeting of the Tipperary Joint Policing Committee, Clare-Tipperary Chief Superintendent Colm O’Sullivan outlined the protocol for dealing with domestic abuse incidents.

He said the gardaí firstly assess the situation and may remove a person posing the risk from the home.

The Superintendent will also review the case, and the responding gardaí will follow up with those affected.

This, he said, has resulted in more people experiencing domestic abuse coming forward. According to a 2022 garda report on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, there is no legal definition of domestic abuse.

This is in contrast to domestic violence, where the violent element is crime in and of itself.

This means that the gardaí regard domestic abuse incidents in two categories, crime and non-crime.

However, it is important to note that even if an incident is assessed as non-crime, the gardaí can still provide support.

CUAN SAOR
For those in south Tipperary, Cuan Saor can provide a range of services, including crisis accommodation for those experiencing domestic abuse.

Based in Clonmel, Cuan Saor also provides counselling, information support, outreach and children and family support.

The Cuan Saor helpline is 1800 57 67 57.