John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy Ellis and the Bill he has brought forward. In reflecting on the Bill and the problem that exists, it is important to look at some of the numbers concerned. In 2013 there were 17,855 incidents of domestic violence and 11,756 incidents of emotional abuse. The statistics roll out in those sizable numbers. We must first accept that there is a very serious problem, and that we have to deal with it.

In setting out the legislation, the Istanbul Convention referred to earlier gives a clear outline to countries as to what they should do. It gives them the definition of the violence and a radical approach to how countries would approach that, define it, prosecute, assist and provide the legislation. It also provides for oversight in terms of the various countries that have signed up to it, 25 of which have done so to date.

On 21 October 2014, in answer to a parliamentary question, the Minister outlined all of the issues within her Department that must be examined and the work done by the various working groups and so on, and there appears to be no urgency about it.

We have not signed up but will do so when we have looked at all of the different aspects of it within the Department. While legislators sit on their hands to a degree in the House and fail to deal with it, more and more women and men are being abused and more and more violence is being seen in homes. We are not reacting to it quickly enough, which is a huge problem.

The foregoing is why I welcome the comments in the House today and the Bill put forward by Deputy Dessie Ellis. We must include in the debate violence towards men in the home. One of the problems austerity has brought is a higher level of violence within the family home. Men, women and children suffer.

I am frankly a little shocked by what the Minister of State said, as he is someone who holds clinics in a city constituency in Waterford and must see what we all see. In Kilkenny there are in excess of 3,000 people on the main housing list. The Minister of State mentioned the rental accommodation scheme and the new HAP scheme which replaces the rent allowance scheme. He makes it sound as if all of these schemes are available, but they are not. The rental scheme will provide assistance up to €540 when, in fact, the real rent is €650. It is higher in other counties and certainly higher in the capital, but that is not reflected at all in housing policy and local authorities.

The Minister of State went on to talk about women's refuges and the different supports provided. It is not possible to get into the women's refuge in Kilkenny or receive the supports if one is the victim of domestic violence in the city. The supports and funding are not available. Any judgment of government should be in the positive in supporting those who are marginalised or affected in some way within communities. This vulnerable sector of men, women and children is the one I would prioritise. The housing section should go out of its way to assist the people in question, not just in providing accommodation but also the support required to hold a family together and deal with the fallout of domestic violence. The fallout can have a life-long effect, not just on the person who has been abused but also on the young members of the family who have witnessed it. Quite honestly, the required response is not available around the country. The Minister of State will find very little humanity or compassion in the local authority housing system to encourage officials to go out of their way to help a man, woman or family to get over this problem. As a result, hotels that offer reasonable rates are being used to house families such as this. In fact, they are being used to house families who cannot and will not find housing accommodation.

Apart altogether from those who sleep on the streets and cannot find houses, it is incredible that in Ireland one has this growing problem of domestic violence spilling over and at crisis point and the only thing we can talk about is future legislation. The least we should do is ensure all existing refuges have sufficient funds to deal with the numbers turning up for help. As is stated in the European Convention on Human Rights, we should begin to provide these facilities where they are absent and provide more in cities such as Dublin, Cork and Limerick where there may be more incidents of this kind requiring greater resources. Instead, we seem only to talk about legislation or say to Deputy Dessie Ellis that he is proposing an amendment to the wrong Bill. I would have preferred it if the Minister of State had come into the House and said, "We are going to propose the amendment to the correct Bill as Deputy Ellis is correct in his description of the problem. In the meantime, we will prioritise and fund the full range of services required to the best of our ability." I do not see any business of the House which should have greater priority than the support of those who are being treated like this in their own homes in our communities.

It says a great deal about the State that a foreign national whose story will be told next week and the week after and who was violently raped in the State was not even recorded in the hospital or Garda system as a rape victim. The pictures of the woman are horrific. One would not have to be a qualified medical practitioner to look at this woman and understand that she was treated violently. No prosecution has been brought in her case. She speaks very little English, has very little understanding of the law and the system has failed her. The system has failed many others who are still on the waiting list or trying to seek help. If one examines the various complaints made within An Garda Síochána recently, one of them relates to a woman who accused a co-worker within the force of sexually assaulting her. That case has never been dealt with and the woman in question has been left abused, demeaned, broken and, by the way, out of a job. That is what normally happens to people who report something like this. They become the victims of a State without compassion or humanity. That is the problem.

It is a cultural and an attitudinal problem we have to overcome. It is not just about funding or housing. It is a major issue for the Government. I would like to see the Minister of State remove the politics from it and say to the Government that we recognise across the House that it requires priority, funding and immediate action. That immediate action can also be linked with how people who have been affected by domestic violence are treated when they turn up looking for local authority housing. They are treated as being guilty when they come until they can prove they are right. That is not the correct attitude for any state to take to people who are vulnerable.

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