Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A few members had to go into the Chamber to ask questions. I will make a few points before we conclude.

It is very hard to read about and watch what is happening nationally and internationally in terms of violence against women in particular. I think of that court case involving the vile, evil male in France. The number of people involved in that is absolutely appalling and shocking. I agree entirely with what has been said in terms of the role of this committee. We are happy to take on board the points and constructive suggestions the witnesses have made and to seek answers for them. Deputy Tully's point regarding the shared island unit and the funding is very important. We will follow that up immediately. Officials from that unit attend the committee approximately twice a year. They will be coming in again but we will get answers in the meantime. We certainly will articulate and support the views and proposals both of the witnesses made. We are happy to follow up on those points. We will concentrate on the shared island unit issue and try to get a real outcome on that.

On another point raised, by way of explanation, Oireachtas Members can no longer be members of local authorities. As such, we do not know about the nitty-gritty of the issues that affect women's groups in different counties unless they come to us personally as TDs or convey the information to us. It is important to follow up the point about cuts to women's programmes and how to achieve more accountability in that regard. I am not sure what is the best way to do that. We could write to the Minister or to the local authorities. Perhaps we should discuss this and try to find a vehicle for interrogating the points made with each of the councils and getting answers.

I thank the witnesses for their time this morning. I have known Ms DeSouza for a number of years and have always found her very articulate. She gets to the core of the issues. I am very conscious of her contribution. I again thank the witnesses for their attendance.