Dáil debates

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Combating Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Statements

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague for sharing time.

I very much welcome the opportunity to speak on combatting domestic violence. Taking that issue alone, these statements could be entitled, "Why there should be no more national lockdowns". If one suffers from domestic violence, the national lockdown makes one a prisoner, a hostage in one’s own home. We have all read the statistics indicating the incidence and reporting of domestic violence have increased this year. Imagine for a second that one suffered abuse, physical or verbal, at the hands of a partner or parent and then heard the Government was contemplating six weeks of national lockdown. Imagine how terrified one would be.

No one has approached me personally on this but they have approached me on mental health issues. People with existing, diagnosed conditions and others who fear they have been affected in some way by Covid-related issues despaired at the thought of level 5 for six weeks. They look forward to the lifting of level 5 in just a couple of weeks, for December, but they know they are not going to enjoy the Christmas period because the threat of another lockdown will be hanging over them for the entire month. As others go about meeting family and friends and enjoying the festive season, all they will see is the likelihood of another lockdown increasing. That will do more incredible damage to them.

To change policy is not to admit a policy is wrong but just to admit circumstances have changed. They have changed. The understanding of the virus and our ability to combat it have changed. Our understanding of the damage of a lockdown, by comparison with the risks of the virus, has changed, and our expectations about a vaccine have changed. Therefore, it is time we changed our plans. The first lockdown, earlier this year, was the right thing to do. We can all accept that now because we did not know what we were facing into and we had to move quickly to protect our citizens. The current lockdown may be the right thing to do; it is too early to know. However, what if we now committed to a strategy that involved no more lockdowns, or no more levels 4 and 5, and that took the word "lockdown" out of our Covid lexicon? Knowing what we know now, what if we did that? What if the Government said it would move heaven and earth to prevent another lockdown and keep us safe from Covid? It can do both. We are aware of what we are capable of as a country now given what we have done over the past year. We know what we can do, that is, put rings of steel around communities that are vulnerable and increase our tracking and tracing, focusing on areas we know are at higher risk. There are also other things we can do that could prevent us from having to go into a lockdown. Imagine what it would mean to people if the Taoiseach made an address in December saying 2020 was tough but that 2021 would be better. He could say it and mean it if we changed our policy to have a no-lockdown strategy while still doing everything we could to beat back this virus. There are other ways, and it is time to debate them as we come out of level 5.

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