An Athlone women's refuge has seen a 49 per cent increase in calls received this year compared to the same time last year.
Esker House provides a suite of services for women and children subjected to domestic abuse and violence.
It has received approval from the government to increase its safe units from five to twelve.
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Along with Athlone Community Services Council, it will now begin detailed planning and design work.
Deirdre Berry, Head of Services at Esker House has outlined some of the requests they receive:
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Deirdre feels a number of factors are behind the increase:
