Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the biggest challenges facing us in the world is the extent and impact of violence against women and children. The global Covid pandemic shone a bright light on this darkness and we saw a staggering increase in the reporting of domestic violence. Women's aid services engaged in 20,763 support contacts in 2019, during which 20,049 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and children were heard. Women disclosed being beaten, strangled, burned, raped and having their lives threatened. Others told that they were denied access to the family income to feed and clothe themselves and their children as they were being stalked and humiliated online.

During the Covid-19 emergency, Women's Aid saw a 43% increase in response to the 24-hour national freephone helpline, between March to June 2019 and March to June 2020. It also reported seeing a 71% increase in visits to the Women's Aid's website. Many children were trapped with abusers and denied outlets that may have offered them respite in the face of abuse before. Many women came up with ways to get in touch, calling from their cars, the garden shed, or from the bathroom where the shower was running, so that they would not be overheard. The results of an independent survey of 937 victims and survivors outlined in an annual impact report for 2019 shows that despite improvements in public awareness and legislation, fear and stigma remain serious barriers to seeking help. To see that the fear and stigma are still there in 2020 is worrying. The pandemic has stretched Women's Aid's services to the limit and I ask that as part of our strategy to combat domestic violence, we follow through on the Government's commitment to audit and improve existing State responses to domestic and sexual violence, infrastructure and other reforms.

A whole-of-government response is required to prevent domestic abuse, to protect those suffering and to hold perpetrators to account. This must include a commitment to fully resource specialist domestic violence services, prioritise family law court reform, and legislate effectively to tackle the growing problem of online abuse. In Ireland, we have come an incredibly long way. We have criminalised domestic violence in the Domestic Violence Act 2018 and now domestic violence is a far greater crime than violence against a stranger. We now have a robust legislative foundation that recognises and responds to the dangerous pattern of control, dominance, inequality and psychological abuse in the home. Because of this Act, barriers for victims are breaking down, but there are still barriers. There are days where we walk past many doors and we do not know what nightmares could lurk behind those doors.

We need to ask questions about what we could do. We also need to look at how we help victims in bad situations to get out and be free before it turns more sinister. While there are services and supports, they are not enough, especially in housing. Housing is one of the most significant issues faced in my constituency. Urgently providing housing needs to be a priority and I know from working with Women's Aid and other agencies that it is not prioritised enough and more is needed. We need to look at how we can listen to victims and help them after they have suffered. We have come far with legislation but I think that we can come up with more. The Domestic Violence Act should be extended so that it is not limited to persons who are in an intimate relationship. The Act should also be amended to empower HSE safeguarding social workers to have authority to make applications directly to court for protection orders on behalf of vulnerable adults.

I want to talk about Carlow. I know earlier speakers spoke about women's refuges. It concerns me that Carlow has been crying out for a women's refuge for years. Carlow is growing. I regularly deal with women in this situation. We have a duty of care to these women to have a women's refuge, particularly with Covid where we can see that figures are rising. We need to deliver on this. I ask the Minister to give a commitment that we will get a women's refuge for Carlow and surrounding areas. I know that Kilkenny has Amber, which is a great service, and we have Women's Aid in Carlow. The local authority recently got a small premises for emergency accommodation for two families, but that is not enough. We need to make sure, in the times that we are living in, that we have those services and can give the most vulnerable women and children in our society a place where they know that they can go when they need help.

We all welcome the biggest budget in the history of the State. As a Government Deputy, I welcome it. As a woman, I ask the Minister to make these women and children a priority, to make sure that every county in Ireland that needs a women's refuge gets one. They are crying out for them and for services. We need to look at all Departments to see where we can support those who are vulnerable to exit that situation safely and with support, and not just leave this violence with the Department of Justice. We all have a role to play in combating domestic violence. I will work with the Minister, as I know other Deputies in this room will. We all want to make sure that we look after the most vulnerable in our community to help them, give them services and funding, so that they know that when they get sorted, they will not be there for a long time. The services should be there for them so that they can access what we call a normal life under Covid. They should be able to live a normal life in society, so that we do not pass a door every day wondering what is going on in a house that no one knows about.

The Minister works hard and is committed to this. I know that as a woman the Minister will deliver on this.

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