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

I thank the Minister for her time this morning. It is very much appreciated. I hope she has had an opportunity to follow some of the work this committee has been doing in recent months. The committee has a short timeframe and we are very much focused on ensuring that what came out of the citizens' assembly is translated into actions for citizens.

I commend the Minister's statement, in particular the commitment to recognise and acknowledge those historic and current gaps in supports and services for survivors of DSGBV. That is critical. It is very important that she had it in her opening statement and I recognise that. I want to focus on a couple of different areas of the third strategy. Delivery of any plan is contingent on effective implementation, which is also then reliant on adequate budget allocations from the Government. Could the Minister confirm if the action plan to follow the publication of the third strategy will be published before the summer recess? Will she and her Department be the accountable body in respect of the implementation of the action plan? I ask this in light of the Cabinet committee on social affairs and equality, which was to have oversight of DSGBV; however, it seems to meet quite sporadically, perhaps twice in 2020 and once in 2021. I recognise the role Covid in that scenario, but the committee has met only once so far this year. Is that likely to change with the new responsibility of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence?

How will regular reporting on the performance be measured? Has the Minister given consideration to publishing a quarterly or biannual performance indicator, similar to what the Garda does in its monthly report to the Policing Authority? Will she make it available? This is most important. Publicly available information on performance indicators is a key tool to demonstrate not just the commitment but delivery, transparency and accountability. It could play a very positive role when it comes to our efforts to halt DSGBV. Significant commitments have been made around the fourth pillar and I do not think any of us would be straying from the truth if we say there has never really been effective policy co-ordination and implementation at national and local level. I understand this is a big ask, but reporting could go some way to addressing concerns.

The Minister also acknowledged in her opening statement that there is a requirement for significant current and capital expenditure. The current annual budget allocated to DSGBV is quite small. Figures provided by Departments in January of this year put the figure in or around €40 million. That is quite a low level of funding, given the task in hand. Has the Department costed in full the third strategy and will a budget for its implementation be sought by the Minister when the strategy is submitted to the Cabinet? She mentioned that would happen in the coming weeks. It is key for survivors and advocates that Government commitments are backed up with clear budget lines and costing, not just on an annual basis but for the lifetime of the plan.

I wish to touch briefly on refuges and the services provided. This is an anomaly that has never sat easy with me or most of the service providers with whom I engage on a regular basis. I refer to the fact that there is no dedicated capital expenditure budget in any Department to provide safe accommodation for survivors of domestic violence, DV. We understand that the capital funding for approved housing bodies and Clúid services to provide refuge accommodation is provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, but the current position is that the primary responsibility for the provision of refuge places is with Tusla. The primary purpose of the homeless current expenditure is for those who cannot provide accommodation from their own means, not specifically for victims of domestic and gender-based violence. We recognise that capital assistance scheme, CAS, funding is available to approved housing bodies, but there seems to be a lack of any proactive measures from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to deliver accommodation specifically for victims of domestic and gender-based violence.

The Minister acknowledged that we do not meet our obligations under the Istanbul Convention to provide adequate accommodation and wrap-around supports. Tusla provides just one third of the refuge spaces that we are obliged to have under the convention. Nine counties have no DV refuge places at all. My county of Longford has no DV accommodation provider. The Minister mentioned the report by her and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We need to substantially increase the number of refuge places given the current needs, projected needs and international obligations. Who is responsible for the delivery of the 60 units? There is a growing concern that this identified immediate need will not be progressed until the DSGBV State agency is established. That would be wholly unacceptable given that it has been established as a current need. Has the budget been secured for the 60 additional units? What is the timeframe for delivery of them and will they include the wrap-around supports and services?

In terms of the service providers on the ground currently, it appears there is an over-reliance on communities and people's generosity in terms of fundraising to meet the resource needs of applying to multiple State agencies for different streams of funding. That was very much exposed during Covid. Because there is no multi-annual funding in place, it makes planning for these services incredibly difficult. We really lag behind international norms on this issue. I fail to see how a proper service level agreement that is fit for purpose could not include multi-annual funding. What progress has been made to rectify this? Will funding for operational costs be streamlined so that these services are not applying to multiple Departments for multiple sources of funding?

We recently heard from AkiDwA, which gave rather compelling evidence on the issues that face migrant women who experience domestic violence and abuse. One of the issues they raised passionately is the limited value of allowing a woman to remain in Ireland on a stamp 3 visa, where she is unable to financially support herself or her children. Why is the provision to obtain a stamp 4 visa, with permission to work, through ministerial consent, not included in the INIS domestic violence guidelines? We need to have very clear pathways for protection, support and care for these migrant women who are reliant on our immigration system. That seems to be lacking at the moment. Does the Minister believe the third strategy adequately provides and protects migrant women and immigrant victims of DSGBV?

Does the third strategy include a national action plan to address female genital mutilation, FGM, in Ireland? If not, why not?