Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I will start by saying a few words about femicide. In Northern Ireland, 11 women have been murdered since the lockdown in March 2020. Imagine if there had been 11 sectarian murders in the same period. It would be all over the news and, having been all over the news, the whole island would be talking about it. If it was because of which community you came from, it would be a significant news item, but when it is because of your gender, it is a different story. There is talk about violence against women being the shadow pandemic, hiding in the shadows and in plain sight. The corporate media have a role to play here. Why is there not more of a light being shone on this? For example, we recently saw an edition of the television show "Living With Lucy", featuring Paul Gascoigne, Gazza, a great footballer. I admired his skills with my mouth open on many occasions. He is one of the most talented of his generation anywhere in the world. Gazza was also responsible for years of violence against his ex-wife. The television show featured his life after football, his battle with alcohol, and his use of Botox. There was nothing about the years of violence. Should it have dominated the programme? No, I do not think so. Should it have featured somewhere? Yes. It cannot have been that the programmers were not aware of that history. His ex-wife Sheryl is a well-known campaigner on the issue. It is an example of how the media fail to shine a spotlight on these issues. I support the recommendations from the assembly regarding violence against women, including about relationships and sexuality education, RSE, training and so on. When will the Government implement them?

Finally, I have a word for the woke capitalists on the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party benches. When are we going to have a new sexual abuse and violence in Ireland, SAVI, report? The last sexual abuse and violence in Ireland report was in 2002, 19 years ago. When will we have a new one?

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