Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is 50:50. We are for equality. Although we are having this discussion in the context of Covid-19 and the horrendous consequences of the lockdown, which, as the last Deputy stated, were predicted because stay-at-home measures have driven the markers that make domestic violence abuse and psychological abuse stand out, the thing that strikes me the most is that we have had this awareness almost all of a sudden. Even the Minister's last statement regarding wanting to acknowledge the shortcomings in the provision of refuges, that did not happen yesterday or when the Covid-19 virus landed on the planet. This situation has been going on all my life. I do not know how many campaigns I have supported or been involved in to help fund, start, protect or defend a refuge here in my city or in another part of the country.

In fact, that was probably one of the first campaigns that any councillor ever elected for People Before Profit was involved in, be that in Wexford, Sligo, Dún Laoghaire, where there is currently no refuge, or indeed in Carlow, where the councillor is fighting to have a refuge provided. The people of Carlow who need to flee domestic violence and abuse rely entirely on one refuge in Kilkenny. Nine counties are without a refuge, so it cannot be just shortcomings in the lack of provision. It is an absolute outrage that, for decades, Governments - not just the Minister's but also previous ones - have ignored this issue. Now it is being really highlighted because of the tragedies exposed through the impact of Covid-19, the pressures on people and the increase in the consumption of alcohol. There are myriad other issues, however, that relate to the consequences of domestic violence and abuse.

I have to laugh when I hear the proposal for a Minister of State for this area. Appointing a Minister of State just to deal with this issue is hiving the issue off and putting the responsibility into his or her lap. The responsibility is holistic. We lack housing and healthcare provision. We have shortcomings in our justice system. We do not look after our children well enough and we are even talking about getting rid of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which is only newly formed. It is not, therefore, about someone over in the corner having responsibility for this area but about all of us having responsibility for it. Creating another job is not going to deal with this endemic, pandemic and cultural problem that we have around the world but which is particularly strong in Ireland.

A few things really need to be done. The first, of course, is the provision of refuges. The WHO, in its recommendations in the lead-up to the Covid-19 crisis, made several suggestions about how to deal with the issue of domestic violence, which people could see was probably going to emerge as a real issue. One of the recommendations was that we need to declare shelters an essential service. I agree completely. Outside the pandemic, shelters should be an essential service that any modern democratic government should be responsible for providing, where they are needed. I refer not only to one for Carlow-Kilkenny but where they are needed. The statement from the previous Deputy regarding Cork is absolutely frightening.

We need to scale up the awareness campaigns, which are very helpful, but we really need to target them, especially at men and boys in this country, because it is learned behaviour and many men who are coercing their partners today, or even thumping or beating them, did not pick that behaviour up off the stones. It is learned behaviour that they have seen around them. It is a wider societal problem and we need to scale up that awareness campaign.

One of the biggest tragedies I witnessed in my time involved in community politics were the cuts after the bank bailout, when the then Minister for Finance referred to picking the low-hanging fruit. In my area certainly, the first and the hardest cuts came to the family resource centres, centres for children, drug addiction centres and alcohol centres, and they have never been fully reinstated. The community sector, which had an eye on this problem and knew who the children were and was able to intervene and help the women and the families to try to get over problems or find alternatives, has been decimated. That sector needs to be wholly funded and reinstated.

My final point is an obvious thing to state. I have a cousin who recently retired as a court assistant for Women's Aid. She retired early because she stated that she could not send another family back into the arms of abusers because there is no housing for them.

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