David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an important and timely debate that will help to raise awareness of what Deputy Connolly described as the crime of domestic abuse and violence and the steps being taken to counter it. Unfortunately, it will be an ongoing task for all of us in this House and for society as a whole to address. While acknowledging Deputy Connolly's observation regarding the reliability of figures, I am struck by the information from the Garda Commissioner, as referred to by the Minister, that there are 30,000 domestic abuse calls every year. Those numbers reflect the instances where people had the courage to make a call. One wonders why so much of this awful criminal abuse is occurring in our society. What has gone wrong that it is happening? It is a big question.

No single Department or organisation will be able to deal with this issue on its own. The way forward is for State, community and voluntary services to work together to reduce its prevalence and effects by educating the public, supporting victims and dealing appropriately with the perpetrators. All of those aspects are vital. Several speakers referred to the domestic violence and victims legislation that was passed in recent years. I was involved in both of those debates, both in this House and in the Seanad. I was Chairman of the committee where the practice of coercive control was discussed some years ago. That awful and pervasive practice is now a crime in this country and gardaí are being trained in how to deal with it.

The Minister referred to the second national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which runs from 2016 to 2021. It is a whole-of-Government response to domestic and sexual violence, encompassing a wide range of actions to be implemented by Departments and agencies. Its first objective is to improve services to victims. I take on board colleagues' points about the need for more refuges and safe spaces, and the distinction between the two. The second element of the strategy is awareness raising to help change attitudes in society and prevent domestic and sexual abuse. The Department of Justice and Equality is midway through a six-year, two-part national awareness campaign, for the first three years of which the What Would You Do? campaign focused on various aspects of domestic violence. Such campaigns are helpful if they encourage people to come forward and report abuse. The third component of the national strategy is holding perpetrators to account. The CHOICES programme, which began in 2017, works with men who have engaged in domestic violence and provides support to their partners and ex-partners. It is run by MOVE Ireland, the Men's Development Network and the north-east domestic violence intervention programme. The strategy is a living document to which actions are added on an ongoing basis. Currently, there are 72 actions, 13 of which were added since its publication in 2016. The success of the strategy is dependent on the community and voluntary sector, which plays a crucial role in monitoring it. That collaboration between State agencies and the community and voluntary sector is vital if we are to tackle this issue properly.

I acknowledge the importance of funding and have taken note of the concerns raised by Deputies in this regard.

Tusla has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual or gender-based violence, with €25.3 million allocated to it for these services in 2019. It met my Department and the strategy national monitoring committee today and will carry out a review of needs in terms of numbers of spaces and other support services. It is hoped we will shortly have a response from that. Working with relevant NGOs, my Department and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the strategy monitoring committee is the forum at which all stakeholders are represented and will build a consensus on the precise approach Ireland must adopt to ensure we meet the very real needs to which Deputies have referred.

A transformation programme under way this year in my Department has changed how it approaches many issues. It has improved collaboration through a strengthened partnership with key NGOs in this area and bolstered the Department's policy capacity. As Deputies will be aware, the aim of the transformation is to create a Department that is more agile, evidence-based and open, while remaining loyal to traditional Civil Service values of integrity, impartiality and professionalism. Work in this area was carried out by Cosc recently, but the Department has reorganised into specialist teams with a focus on specific functions relating to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The intention is that the Department will be in a better position to deliver on its strategic objectives. More clearly defined roles and responsibilities will mean improved accountability, while services will be delivered in a better and more streamlined way. Information will be shared with stakeholders and the public in a more proactive way through a dedicated transparency function. The Department aims to ensure that the important issues within our responsibility, including in respect of tackling domestic violence, will be handled in a better way in the future. This renewed engagement with stakeholders will be important to ensure that those actions are achieved and will help us to look forward and prepare the groundwork for the next iteration of the strategy in 2021. It will continue to work on behalf of and for victims of these crimes.

I am grateful to the Deputies who contributed on this very important topic. I thank the Business Committee for allocating time for statements on domestic violence which has allowed me to outline the changes that have been made this year to tackle the issue. I acknowledge that we have far more to do to reduce domestic violence and tackle its awful effects. Important progress has been made this year with the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and the passage of legislation. All Deputies must do more on the issue. The Department and the Government, in partnership with civil society, will continue to prioritise the fight against domestic violence. This debate has been an important part of that process. I thank Deputies for their robust, honest and straightforward contributions and for bringing this very important issue to the fore again.

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