Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It was very appropriate that, in fairness, when the lockdown came in the Garda Síochána and many others recognised that it was going to be a time of great turmoil for many women in particular who were locked in situations where domestic violence was a threat to their safety and, in some cases, their very lives. That was made a priority, as was appropriate and right. Of course, those fears were borne out, as evidenced by the high number of calls and incidents of domestic violence in the past 18 months during the pandemic.

I am not unique among Deputies. All Members regularly deal with people who suffer as a result of this problem. A woman who came to me recently told me that one of the things her partner used to do was to put their three children in the car and drive away and maybe not come back that night. She would lie awake for the whole night worrying about what was happening. The vindictiveness of doing that to a person, without ever laying a hand on them, reflects the kind of individuals in society who we, as a nation, have to stand up against. These people are bullies in the most extreme form. The way in which they have treated people who are supposed to be close to them as something they can control, abuse and terrorise is atrocious.

I refer to the message Deputy McDonald sent to women out there who are suffering. Although it is not only women who are affected, it is predominantly women who find themselves in these circumstances. There is help available to them. We have to ensure that despite the difficulties there may be with 999 calls or the absence of services and all that, we still have to encourage people to come forward to, please, ensure their lives and those of their children and families are not terrorised in this way. We have to ensure they have hope because there is a generous and compassionate community in this country that wants to help them. They need to come forward and seek that help.

The State has a key role on this issue. I refer to the revelation in recent days that so many 999 calls went unanswered and were cancelled. The Taoiseach stated that we will all wait to see what comes from the Garda Síochána and Policing Authority investigations into this. There needs to be more than that. There needs to be an investigation by a body outside the Garda Síochána in the form of an independent review of how this happened because it was not human error; it was human intention. Somebody intentionally cancelled those calls and ensured these people did not get a response. The system has to be held to account for that as well as the individuals involved. It is clear that this issue cannot just be investigated by the Garda; it has to be done by an outside body. That is one of the clear things that has to come from that situation.

Women's Aid and many other organisations, such as community organisations, are often founded by people who experienced this problem. These organisations seek funding and get some help from the State, but then must fundraise and do all those things to fill a gap that, in all honesty, the State should. The State should provide these services without these voluntary organisations being needed to do it. That is a lesson for us. However, we are in the world we are in and these people need assistance. They need adequate funding to provide safe places, in every county and part of the country, to which women in particular can flee and have a safe place. Many of them do not have that at the moment or are being turned away from refuges. It needs to be a priority of Government that the funding is put in place to ensure these places can be provided for the many vulnerable people who need them.

Reports on this issue are published all the time. There is so much great work being done by Women's Aid and all the other organisations. Safe Ireland has launched a report in respect of all of this. Much of the work these people do, they do because they believe we can do better. They are part of the generous society to which I referred. In fact, they are at its cutting edge. However, we cannot simply push this issue over for that sector to deal with it. It is too big an issue for us to allow that to happen. Deputies are aware that thousands of families are affected by this and that we, as a society and as a country, have to provide them with support. That has to be provided centrally. It has to be something the Government does for its people rather than being something the Government funds others to do. That is the primary change that has to happen.

Although I welcome the various reports that are being carried out and the studies into what is happening at the moment, many such reports end up on a shelf and nothing comes of them. That has been the case for many decades, The opportunity is now. Through the pandemic, there was a recognition that people were in serious danger. Now is the time to act on the reports, rather than just putting them on a shelf, and to provide the services people need to be safe. It is time to make a change not just in how we provide services, but also in our attitude. The attitude we, as a society, have towards all of this needs to change. Men, in particular, have a significant role here. Young men have to learn that their place is to be there for everyone, not just to have some macho attitude to life. Such attitudes have to change. I think all Members will concur with that. However, to make that happen, there is work to be done in all aspects of society, such as the education process. That and every other aspect of how we develop and go forward will have to have the issue of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence at its core to ensure we eradicate it from society and move on.

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