Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

The one place in the world where most people would expect to feel safe is at home. For a significant number of people, the one in five Irish women who experiences domestic violence, that is not the case. One in three of those who picks up the telephone to seek help finds the call is not answered. In a country as wealthy as Ireland we have our priorities wrong if this issue is not seen as an area that requires good quality services, backed up by good legislation.

Like other Members, the people, predominantly women, who come to my clinic about issues of domestic violence fall into two categories. First, there are those who require immediate assistance. That such people walk into my constituency office or other constituency offices as the first port of call speaks volumes. That highlights the unavailability of services. Often the agencies have to fundraise to keep the show on the road. Those in the second group try to plan their way out of domestic violence. They are trying to keep the children in school and maintain some normality while trying to find a way out of the appalling situation in which they have found themselves. The problems they experience are the practical remedies of finding another home to go to while trying to remain in the locality where their children are at school. Such practical solutions will have to be put in place if this problem is to be addressed.

Another group who approach me are foreign nationals. They often come from very violent countries and different cultures. We have to make adjustments to ensure the language issue is not a barrier to reporting. I have read the SAVI report on sexual violence. Of the women who are subject to domestic violence, a significant number are also subject to sexual violence. According to the SAVI report 44% were dissatisfied with the Garda who did not adequately explain why certain procedures were conducted. There was a perception that they were to blame for the assaults. That is part of the reason for a low level of reporting. That is a serious problem.

In the main it is women who contact me. It takes a great deal of courage and confidence to tell somebody that something so private is going on in one's own home. While I have not come across them, I acknowledge there is a cohort of men who suffer domestic abuse in the range of different forms in which it manifests itself. If practical solutions are being put in place they will have to be available to men and women. When abuse takes place in the home it extends beyond the partner to the children. One can spend a lifetime picking up the pieces if one does not deal with the issue at source. That is another aspect to which consideration must be given.

A few weeks ago the national domestic violence agency was on the brink of collapse because of inadequate funding. The agency cannot continue from one crisis to another without core funding being put in place. We must recognise there is a range of different forms of abuse and not one size that fits all. There is a good deal of information available at the national domestic violence agency that needs to be considered. Following on from its report we need to put in place practical systems and legislation to tackle the problem in a serious manner.

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