Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I echo the comments of previous speakers. It is good that we are discussing this issue but it is regrettable that it has been given a twilight slot. However, I am glad the debate was salvaged from among the other issues that were cut for discussion before Christmas and I welcome that we have marked the spot. As long as it is a marking of the spot and the debate will resume at a future date, then it is an indication of a welcome move because if society is to deal with these complex issues, there must be a debate, which articulates some of the complexities around it. There are contradictions at play. Domestic violence is a crime and it is not a private matter. As in any criminal matter, people seek to turn to the Garda first when they experience crime. Other Members alluded to the recent report, which has revealed shocking instances of what happens when people do that. Gardaí are not equipped to adequately deal with these issues and that needs to be addressed from a training perspective.

There are two options when violence occurs in the home before we consider why it happens. The first is how to facilitate victims to leave and the second is enabling them to stay, which means dealing with the perpetrators better than we do currently. This relates to the legal issues flagged by other Members. They need to be made more straightforward and enforceable to deal with the perpetrator. There is a sad irony that the best and safest route for many people is to leave. Against a backdrop of austerity and the homelessness and housing crises, that is not an option. I have no doubt that women remain in violent relationships out of concern for their children as they do not want to move them from schools and so on because no alternative accommodation is available in the area. They will put up with the beatings, the psychological torture and so on because leaving is not a viable option. It is regrettable that some of the positive measures even in the context of temporary accommodation are not being addressed because of a lack of resources. Deputy Catherine Murphy would have mentioned the Teacher Tearmainn facility in Newbridge, County Kildare, where two brand new apartments are unavailable for use because of staffing problems and so on. A sum of €80,000 would sort that out. The current situation is not good enough when hundreds of children are being turned away from the facility.

These issues need to be examined but we need a broader discussion on why domestic violence happens. Violence against women perpetrated by people they know is the most common form of violence experienced by women. I will not repeat the horrendous statistics but this happens because of the way society unnaturally places the family in a position where, on the one hand, it is the resource we rely on the most because the State does not support us in many ways while, on the other, we allow things to go behind closed doors. It is not an accident that we have this problem. It is less than 25 years since rape within marriage was outlawed. It was not a crime before that because society could not envisage how that could be the case given a woman was a man's property. He was entitled to have sex with her whenever he liked and, therefore, she could not say "No". It is no accident that we are only catching up now with what goes on in the home when the attitude was that women and children were the property of men.

Alcohol and drugs should not be used as an excuse. I disagree with Deputy Ó Cuív because soft drugs do not result in violence and so on. Prohibition is not a solution to any of society's problems. We must examine the pressure we put on relationships and families, for example, the pressure of being a male breadwinner, who in a modern society may not be able to deliver and who may experience feelings of inadequacy and frustration.

This is not in any way a justification but it does point to some of the roots.

There is, obviously, violence against men in a domestic scenario. This is a growing phenomenon and to mention it is no disrespect to women. We will grapple with some of these issues in the new year.

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