By Julie Waters
PLANS are in the pipeline to help secure more funding for North Down and Ards Women’s Aid following a 186% rise in demand for refuge services over the past three years.
Councillors Pete Wray and Katherine Newman brought a notice of motion to last night’s meeting of Ards and North Down Council that also highlights a 33% increase in floating support referrals to the domestic abuse charity over the same period.
The UUP councillors are calling on the local authority to write to Communities Minister Gordon Lyons to ask for a funding review of the money allocated to Women’s Aid through the Housing Executive’s Supporting People grant.
The councillors have also asked that a second letter is written to the Executive expressing concerns that Stormont’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls strategy supports domestic abuse prevention work rather than on the ground services.
The strategy aims to address the whole range of gender-based violence, abuse and harm which is disproportionately experienced by women and girls, and is rooted in gender inequality.
The motion acknowledges that while ‘investment in prevention is essential’, the demand for domestic abuse services such as floating support and refuge accommodation outstrips the provision currently available to survivors.
As a result, the motion goes on to call for the Executive to set up a dedicated emergency fund in Northern Ireland to support women who are fleeing domestic abuse but face immediate financial barriers to accessing safety.
The motion states that: “Many women, particularly those who are working or have limited access to benefits, are unable to afford refuge accommodation costs or secure private rental housing due to high upfront expenses such as deposits and rent in advance.
“As a result, they are often forced to remain in unsafe environments or face homelessness. This fund would provide flexible, rapid financial assistance to cover emergency costs, refuge stays, and access to long-term housing, ensuring that no woman is prevented from leaving an abusive situation due to a lack of financial resources.”
Emalyn Turkington, CEO of North Down and Ards Women’s Aid, welcomed the push for more funding to help meet the growing demand for their services from women and their children living in the borough.
Said Ms Turkington: “By the end of the financial year in 2023 we had 372 referrals into our floating support services; this had risen to 496 referrals by the end of March 2026.
“We had 36 referrals into refuge at the end of the financial year in 2023 and this had risen to 103 referrals into refuge by the end of March 2026.”
However she pointed out that as the local refuge was ‘always full’ they were not always able to accommodate the rising number of women and their children in need of emergency accommodation.
And while Ms Turkington welcomed the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, she said more funding was needed to provide on the ground services and tackle waiting lists.
Ms Turkington welcomed the support from local councillors, stating that the charity did not have ‘enough services on the ground in Northern Ireland’ to support the rising number of women seeking their services.
