Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is, therefore, probably a matter of spending a couple of million euro in several counties around the country.

The other aspect, which was probably mentioned in all the witnesses' submissions, is that there is an issue with core funding or having funding in place that those concerned know they can survive on. That is fair. One of the organisations I have come across, Lifeline (Inishowen) Domestic Violence Service, has received no funding whatsoever from the Government. It depends solely on fundraising. There are many similar organisations in various sectors throughout the country. They do tremendous work. Despite their lack of funding, we expect a service. I have come across people who have gone with their difficulty to An Garda Síochána, the HSE or State agencies but who have been pointed in the direction of the organisations to which I refer, which get no public funding whatsoever and must fundraise as a consequence.

There is a dilemma that we certainly need to address because the matter is urgent.

I refer to training when it comes to identifying and understanding coercive control, particularly from the perspective of Men's Aid. I have come across situations where men find they cannot leave an abusive situation because they are controlled by the threat of self-harm or suicide by their partners. They are tied to situations from which it is difficult to extract themselves. How much training is required? Garda personnel and the staff of Tusla and a range of other agencies require training to be able to make the correct interventions and deal with such situations.