Over 120 women couldn’t find refuge at Carlow/Kilkenny domestic abuse service because it was full

A TOTAL of 536 women contacted Amber Women’s Refuge, the domestic abuse service for women and children in Carlow and Kilkenny – but 128 women couldn’t find refuge because Amber was full. According to the refuge’s annual report for 2024, there was an 8% increase in the number of women contacting the organisation for support between 2021 and 2024.

The contacts were made through Amber’s 24/7 helpline and drop-in support service. Women sought support and information and/or referral to the organisation’s community-based outreach team in Kilkenny and Carlow, its court support and accompaniment service, counselling and parenting support services. Many women made contact solely to talk in confidence with Amber’s specialist team.

The report also shows that 99 women, 69 in Kilkenny and 30 in Carlow, received ongoing specialist support from Amber’s community-based outreach team.

Up to 71 women received court support and were helped to obtain court orders, while 60 women and their children received refuge throughout 2024. Unfortunately, 128 women could not get refuge as it was full.

Post-refuge support sessions were delivered to 178 women after leaving refuge, 45 women participated in group support programmes, 43 women received 203 counselling sessions and 22 mothers received ongoing parenting support to help with the challenges of parenting during or after an abusive relationship.

Another 17 children impacted by domestic abuse received specialist support.

Challenges outlined by Amber in the report included the negative impact of the housing and cost of living crises on women and children experiencing control and abuse in their homes.

“The cost-of-living and housing crises place an increased financial strain on already vulnerable women and children, leaving them more susceptible to abusive relationships and homes,” said Lisa Morris, a manager with Amber. “These crises further limit women’s ability to escape abusive relationships and, in turn, remain out of those relationships with critically low access to safe accommodation.

“This was evident both in the number of women who sought but could not receive refuge last year as we were full, as well as in the scarcity of social housing and private rental accommodation across Kilkenny and Carlow.” 

Key developments for the organisation last year included the selection of a preferred site in Carlow town for a ten-unit refuge facility with support services for women and children, plus Amber’s submission of an application under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) to develop the new refuge.

The CAS application, the first in the four-step process, was approved by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage earlier this year. Work is expected to begin on the new refuge in Carlow in late 2026.

In 2026, it is hoped that there will be the addition of a new domestic abuse and court support worker to the community-based outreach team in Kilkenny and Carlow and a new child and youth development worker.

Amber is also developing a new website www.amberservices.ie containing information and resources for victim-survivors of domestic abuse.

Amber provides emergency refuge accommodation, support and information services and a 24-hour helpline/drop-in service to women and children living in Kilkenny, Carlow and surrounding counties. It also provides safe, inclusive, community-based support services in Kilkenny city and county and in rural Co Carlow.

An Garda Síochána responded to more than 65,000 domestic abuse incidents in 2024, an average of 1,250 incidents every week.