Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe anybody buys the idea that the Taoiseach was not convinced about producing another SAVI report with the same methodology. The point is that the figures are 15 years old, which is almost a generation. Clearly, there must be changes. It should be of interest to this State to monitor the trends.

The Taoiseach indicated that money would be provided in the budget for Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, in order that it could cut the fees for women who want to get barring orders. Those fees still exist.

There does not seem to be any real sign or example that the Government takes this whole question very seriously. There has been an internal review and an internal email at The Gate. In the past we have seen how useless that is as a form of investigation. There should be an investigation into what took place there. The fact that lots of people in the arts seem to have known about this bully existing for years yet nothing was done says everything about the tolerance around this issue.

The disclosures on #MeToo and by other people disclosing their experiences is very important. It is part of a global movement against gender-based violence and for gender equality in general. That is to be welcomed. My question is whether the State is serious about getting to the heart of the figures. Women's Aid, for which the Taoiseach gave a figure, had its funding cut during the recession by 31%, including a 20% cut by Tusla in 2015. The Taoiseach should not try to cite a figure in comparison to one year, he should talk about what has happened to the services in recent years.

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