No room - Kilkenny refuge forced to turn away more than half of women seeking help

Amber Women’s Refuge saw the highest number of women aged over 60 accommodated in the Kilkenny refuge in 2024, since it opened 24 years ago, it has been revealed in the organisation’s annual report.

The refuge also reports that the number of women granted refuge has increased by one third, while it was unable to offer accommodation to more than half of all those who needed it, because all space was full.

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Numbers in need of help and support continue to increase, the report states. In 2024, 536 women contacted Amber for support and information.

Despite this, community fundraising has fallen by 55% and corporate funding support is down 15%. This in the context that Amber’s core funding is not enough to pay for several staff roles and key activities in the organisation.

From 2021 – 2024, there has been a cumulative increase of 8% in the number of women contacting the domestic abuse organisation for support - through Amber’s 24/7 helpline and drop-in support service.

Throughout 2024, 60 women and their 60 children received refuge. However, 128 women could not get refuge as accommodation was full.
This is an increase from 2023, when 40 women and 53 children received refuge.

Control and abuse
“The plight of older women experiencing control and abuse from their partner or a family member is often overlooked,” said Lisa Morris, Manager, Amber.

“Women who have been in life-long abusive relationships are faced with many additional barriers to escaping and living violence-free. The fact these women contacted us demonstrates that it is never too late to seek safety and support.”

Many women made contact solely to talk in confidence with Amber’s specialist team.

Amber’s 2024 Annual Report also highlights their extensive support and education programmes.
Ongoing specialist support from Amber’s community-based Outreach team was delivered to 99 women (69 in Kilkenny, 30 in Carlow); 178 post-refuge support sessions were delivered to women after leaving refuge.

As well as that, 71 women received Court Support and Court Accompaniment to obtain court orders, 45 women participated in group support programmes, 43 women received counselling and 22 mothers received ongoing parenting support to help with the challenges of parenting during or after an abusive relationship.

Seventeen children impacted by domestic abuse received specialist support.
Amber’s StartSafe schools programme, which highlights the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, was completed by 456 TY students in Kilkenny and Carlow.

Challenges outlined 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. 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,” continued Lisa Morris.

Funding concerns
The organisation also raises concerns about funding, in the report. Core annual funding does not pay for several staff roles and key activities within the organisation, including counselling, training, awareness raising and educational initiatives. With the organisation becoming increasingly reliant on fundraising and income from grants, trusts and foundations (GTFs) to fund itself each year, the report outlines that income from community fundraising decreased by 55% in 2024, while funding from corporates was down 15%.