Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I will keep my questions concise because we want to hear the witnesses' responses. I thank them all for their time this morning and for the expertise they bring to this room. It is vitally important in our work to ensure that the recommendations of the Citizen's Assembly actually deliver that real change that is so desperately needed.

I will start with AkiDwA. I want to focus on female genital mutilation, FGM, for a moment. The picture Dr. Mbugua painted for victims and survivors of FGM is very bleak in our cities. In our more rural communities and outside those major urban areas, however, the challenges people face in terms of accessing support must be much more profound, particularly around that psychological and wraparound support of which Dr. Mbugua spoke. In Dr. Mbugua's opinion, what does this look like?

What does the model that meets the need look like? She is correct to speak of those pathways to protections and supports in relation to our immigration system. I fail to see the logic in telling somebody they can have an independent stamp 3 visa while at the same time refusing them access to employment in order to support themselves and build a life outside of the abusive relationship they are in. This is something we see repeated across various Departments. Steps are taken but they are not completed. That lack of completion means that women are forced to return to an abusive environment because they cannot develop their own independent life outside of it.

I have a very specific question. Tusla has highlighted the urgent and established need for 60 additional safe units. The witnesses spoke the need for culturally appropriate supports. What does that look like to them? What are they looking for with these additional units, which need to be delivered rather quickly?

What engagement has AkiDwa had with the Department of Justice on the development of national action plan on female genital mutilation? Do the witnesses believe the 2012 Act is effective, or does it need to be reviewed and updated?