Dáil debates

Wednesday, 24 June 2020

Covid-19 (Measures to Protect Victims of Domestic Violence): Statements

 

5:40 pm

Photo of Alan FarrellAlan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming before us. I wish to echo his comments on the bravery of the women whose case concerning the abuse they suffered at the hands of their father was heard last week. As the Minister said, they showed extraordinary courage and dignity in coming forward and going public with that. I have no doubt that those women will do the State and the women of Ireland considerable service by coming forward. I wonder if there is a need for the Department of Justice and Equality, in conjunction with other agencies such as Tusla, to look at services that have historically been provided to minority communities in the State regarding sexual and domestic violence. I know there have been calls for this.

I also wish to echo the Minister's statement on services that are being provided during this period, as highlighted by my colleague. I am particularly thinking of the expert advice requested by the Minister on vulnerable witnesses, the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences, and the protection of those witnesses. At this time, when there is a heightened awareness of these issues, it is especially important for the Oireachtas to come together to ensure that instances of domestic and sexual violence are reduced and the services are provided where they are needed.

I commend also the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, on her work in ensuring that emergency rent supplement was introduced in the midst of this pandemic. Deputy McAuliffe, who is, unfortunately, not here, referenced it in relation to a case in his constituency. Perhaps if it had been introduced sooner, the case might have been dealt with in that way.

I would like to highlight two specific issues. I note with great appreciation the work that is being done by An Garda Síochána, in particular a member in Swords who showed extraordinary empathy and professionalism in dealing with a certain instance of domestic violence that came to my attention. His work with a particular family in Swords is a credit to both his station and the service. It highlights a question I have asked before as a former member of the Committee on Justice and Equality in the Thirty-first and Thirty second Dáileanna. I refer to the provision of continuing professional development to An Garda Síochána. This is necessary to ensure that the specialist officers the Minister mentioned in his contribution today and on other occasions are available in each station rather than merely on a divisional basis, where some divisions have them and some do not.

Deputies Tully, Troy and McAuliffe have mentioned the patchy nature of the shelters. Having spoken to victims of domestic abuse and members of An Garda Síochána over the years, my experience is that the provision of specially trained officers can also be quite patchy. While I appreciate the work being done to ensure that more trained specialist officers are available, this training should be available to all officers should they choose to take part. Will the Minister assure the House that this sort of training will be provided on an ongoing basis?

I compliment the publicity given to the supports that are available, particularly in light of the fact that calls to An Garda concerning domestic violence have increased by 25% during this pandemic. It is very important that we keep that going. I refer to the code which a caller can give to a 999 operator, emergency services or gardaí to highlight an issue of domestic violence that cannot be mentioned on the phone. That needs to be publicised more. As Deputy Jim O'Callaghan said, we do not want a situation where a person is not in a position to make that phone call. I am thinking of yourmentalhealth.ie, the 50808 crisis text line and the Still Here campaign that was launched in Swords this week in conjunction with An Garda and the local authority. Services like that are so important, but we must bear in mind that it can sometimes be difficult to send that text message because doing so creates a record. The control exercised over victims of domestic and sexual violence means that doing things like that may be difficult or put them at risk. I call for an ongoing publicity campaign, spearheaded by the Department of Justice and Equality and supported by other agencies. What assurances can the Minister offer that such campaigns will be continued? My other query concerns continuing professional development and the availability of specialist officers across the network.

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