Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm deis a bheith agam labhairt ar an ábhar seo. I too could be critical of how late the hour is, but I will not, because I believe it is important that we have this debate and it does not matter what time of day it is. Across all parties, we abhor domestic violence. While it is a pity the debate is at this hour, given the time of year, and as somebody who has continuously asked over quite a number of years for statements on domestic violence in December, to correspond with the Women's Aid campaign 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women, it is important that the Houses reflect the debate that is being held in public, given the harrowing statistics that face us every year. I have continuously asked for such a debate, and this year the Minister has granted it, which I welcome.

I have been critical of previous Ministers for Justice and Equality for their inaction in many ways. It is refreshing to hear today what the Minister has set out for herself, especially for next year. I hope the time will allow her to deliver on those commitments in terms of the Istanbul Convention and the EU directive on victims, and also the long-awaited newly consolidated and updated legislation. The consolidation will be good to see, but I believe updating and dealing with the issues is a big challenge, given that those who have been dealing with cases of domestic violence have shown us the system is not working. When the heads of the Bill are published, hopefully in early 2015, I hope the Minister can refer it to the justice committee as quickly as possible so it can carry out pre-legislative scrutiny. It can also invite in those who have been critical of the way the Houses of the Oireachtas have dealt with domestic violence over the years so they can have their say and so that their views and practical solutions may be reflected by the drafters when they finally put the legislation together.

It is important, given the statistics, that we in this Chamber reflect the urgency that is involved. The domestic violence services answered more than 46,000 calls and provided services for more than 8,000 women last year alone. That is in some ways scary for a society, but it is a reflection of those who sought help, although not everybody seeks help, which is a pity. Fifteen rape crisis centres also assisted more than 2,000 survivors of sexual violence in that period. As we know, victims are far more likely to see a prosecution if they are attacked by a stranger in a public place and if they succeed in reporting it within an hour. If, however - as with the vast majority of victims, some 91% - a woman is assaulted by a known assailant in private - in her own home - there is often a delay in reporting, and it is extremely unlikely that those victims will ever see justice done. That is unacceptable. We have to come up with a framework in which that is not the case. It requires a more robust and co-ordinated response on behalf of the Government. That is why I welcome the change in attitude that the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, has brought in comparison to the previous Minister, Deputy Shatter, who said there was more important legislation to be prepared concerning the financial crisis. I know he was questioned on a number of occasions over the years and that was the stock answer. At least we have tonight seen a very solid commitment from the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald.

I wholeheartedly support the recommendations from the Rape Crisis Network, which has called in particular for a multi-departmental Government response and the use of the education system in running a primary prevention programme. I believe a lot more can be done through education to prevent domestic violence in the first place or, at the very least, to give a societal response when abuse occurs in a family home or a community setting.

There is also the question of the provision of specialist training for An Garda Síochána. The Minister made mention of the Garda Inspectorate report findings, which were very stark and made sobering reading. The inspectorate found that rape and sexual assault is not always investigated by detectives despite the seriousness of the offences and the complexity and inherent sensitivity of the cases. That has to change, no matter what else we do. Those who are dealing with sexual violence in An Garda Síochána need to have the appropriate training and, hopefully, that will be reflected in the near future. The inspectorate also said these cases are often investigated by gardaí who are not properly trained. The inspectorate further found problems with accurate recording and classification of domestic violence on the Pulse system, with many identified cases of domestic violence wrongly categorised as complaints without violence, even where a crime had occurred. Again, it falls to members of An Garda Síochána to ensure there is proper reporting, classification and recording of those cases because, without those statistics, the figures we are quoting are probably an underestimation. That is a reform to be made within An Garda Síochána. Many reforms are under way in An Garda Síochána, which is all to the good. It cannot change overnight, but in many ways it needs to.

Last year saw an initiative called On Just One Day, which consisted of a State-wide census of women and children accessing domestic violence services. It found that on one day in November 2013 nearly 700 people called or used the services. A total of 467 women and 229 children who were at risk sought the help of the agencies involved, and if they had not, they would have been homeless or at risk of homelessness. On that one day when the census was held, more than 100 women and 150 children were accommodated in a refuge, and 15 women and 24 children were newly admitted. That same day, 15 women could not be accommodated because there were not enough spaces.

Of the total number of adult victims, 24 of the women were pregnant and 29 of them needed hospitalisation or a doctor. This is the report from just one day and the reason a day was picked was to provide an example of what the services go through day in and out. These are the stark and harrowing figures of domestic violence in society.

Domestic violence affects all parts of the community, all walks of life, all classes and creeds. No group is immune from it and there are both victims and perpetrators in all groups. Given the sheer numbers involved, violence, against women in particular, should be at the top of the list of any anti-crime agenda and at the top of the political agenda. This is not to belittle or ignore violence against men within the home. The Minister mentioned the Amen service in Dolphin House, which helps men subject to domestic violence. It is good there is recognition that men too also suffer from domestic violence.

On a related issue, no victim, regardless of the perpetrator, should be denied a forum to have his or her voice heard or to see justice done or to receive the assurance that no further women will be put at risk due to the action or inaction of the justice system. To this end, Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, made a formal proposal to the Taoiseach in early November for an all-Ireland initiative to deal with the issue and support the victims of sexual abuse during the course of the war in the North. Many of those victims did not feel they could report to the authorities, in particular the RUC and the PSNI. I believe this initiative could and should be jointly resourced by the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government. The objective would be to support victims of abuse in all communities, regardless of the identity or position of the perpetrator, to ensure access to counselling and other supports and to ensure access to prosecution by the justice system if victims wished or felt they could make official complaints. Victims would also be assured anonymity and confidentiality if required and if they did not wish to be identified.

I raise the issue of funding of the services that are doing tremendous work in this area. We are all aware of the level of support they provide and of the increasing call on their services. However, as yet they have not seen a corresponding increase in the resources they need and require and some services have suffered cuts over the years. These cuts need to be addressed and reversed and the sooner the better. The reversal of the cuts would only bring the services back to a level that was not adequate in the first place. More is required, because the level of services needs to be raised beyond the level there five or six years ago when some of the cuts took effect. Key steps need to be taken to ensure moneys are ring-fenced to enable delivery of these services.

The estimate for the cost to the economy of these domestic services annually is €2.5 billion. If that is the estimate, the additional money required for service provision - €2.5 million - would be money well spent. Apart from the economic argument, it is money well spent if it helps protect women, children and men from domestic violence and provides them with the hope there is a service and home for them during the time they are making the transition from a family home where there is an abuser. It would also provide support where needed to allow them remain within the home where a violent abuser is barred from the home through a safety order.

SAFE Ireland has identified five essential actions requiring the support of the Members of this House. We must ensure these steps are taken. The first concerns the ringfencing of budgets to ensure the services are properly resources and can plan for the future. These services do not pop up overnight and those who run them must have some security to know the service can be guaranteed. It takes time to build up trust and support of those people who have suffered domestic abuse. The second proposal is to amend, develop and enact housing legislation as a matter of urgency to address the many barriers to safe accommodation currently experienced by victims of domestic violence. As part of this, Sinn Féin recently tried to bring forward legislation in this House, but this was rejected by the Government. I commend those who supported it at the time.

I will forward the other proposals to the Minister. I thank her for taking the time to have this important debate. We should try to ensure the issue is part of our annual calendar in December, but preferably not the last item on our agenda. Perhaps the lateness of this debate sends out a message that we are serious about this issue and are willing to discuss it.

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