Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy asked about additional funding, which is related to a question the Chairman asked earlier. Tusla got an increase of about €66 million. We have also allocated an additional €4.7 million to services relating to domestic violence, of which €2.7 million is core funding. That gives it €28 million in core funding. We have also provided an additional €2 million just for this year to meet Covid costs over the year. It has total funding of €30 million for this year, €28 million of which is core funding that will be repeated in 2022.

I will be trying to grow that and I am committed to increased investment. Domestic violence is being reported more. I do not know if the incidence is increasing or if it is because people are coming forward more. In any event, it is important that people have confidence to come forward. We need to do more to make it easier for victims of domestic violence to come forward and to support them in doing so.

This ties in to the second question. Members have probably heard of the O'Malley review into the journey of victims of sexual crime published late last year. It was commenced subsequent to the Belfast rape trial and the discussion on how we treat victims of sexual crimes here. That was a significant body of work undertaken by Mr. O'Malley. The response to it is being led by the Department of Justice. One element of involves Tusla, in conjunction with the HSE and the Department of Justice, mapping out the services that are available to victims of sexual crime. Often this may include someone in circumstances of domestic violence. That will not always be the case but it is certainly relevant. The mapping exercise will be useful in identifying where there are gaps in service provision throughout the country. There are 16 rape crisis centres but not all areas of the country are served to the same degree. Getting that information will be important so that we can guide where we target resources in future.

Reference was made to the specific issue of male victims of domestic violence. That is a significant issue and it is important that it is raised. I met representatives of the charity representing male victims of domestic violence in January. We had a useful discussion during which they raised the issue of programmes to support women. The issue of female perpetrators of domestic violence was also raised. I cannot remember the full details now but perhaps I can get back to the committee on it. There is ongoing work in that area. We support the NGO in question and recognise its important work. Violence against men in a domestic setting should not be forgotten in this discussion.

It was great to hear of the engagement with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland and BeLonG To. Both organisations are represented on the national LGBTI+ inclusion strategy committee. I chair the co-ordinating committee of that group. We had a useful meeting last week. The strategy is divided into different pillars. Last week's pillar covered safety and society. Among the issues discussed were violence and hate crimes. There was a detailed update from the Department of Justice on the hate crime legislation on which the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is working. The Minister intends to have the heads of Bill ready after the Easter recess. That important legislation will benefit LGBTI+ and trans people. It will deal with hate crime on the basis of race, gender, disability and a whole range of other areas. This is the type of legislation that Ireland has lacked for far too long.

Another point was raised on surrogacy. Today, I brought to Cabinet a review of the special rapporteur on child protection, Dr. Conor O'Mahony, on surrogacy laws in Ireland and what needs to be done. The report has to be published and brought to both Houses of the Oireachtas. I understand we will do that later today. The process will result in significant legislation. We discussed the matter at Cabinet today. Legislation is being worked on in the Department of Health. The Taoiseach indicated we needed to prioritise this area.

Surrogacy is a great gift to parents who are not in a position to conceive. It is also, however, a complicated area and one that needs regulation because it could potentially be exploited in a negative way. It is important to have a strong, fair and robust regulatory framework.