Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I join with the Taoiseach and Minister for Justice in paying tribute to Ashling Murphy, and offering my condolences to her family, friends and all those within her community who are grieving for her. The taking of a young life, a life that was so full of vitality and promise, has brought shock, revulsion and a great deal of reflection in Ireland, and through that, a necessary reckoning with the reality behind this appalling murder. We must call that for what it is: men's violence against women.

According to a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights survey, one in three women have experienced psychological violence by a current or former partner. Some 12% of Irish women and girls over the age of 15 have experienced stalking and more than 200 women have died violently in Ireland in the past two decades.

More than those statistics, we all know the stories. Every man in this Chamber will have heard from a female friend, from a colleague or from a family member about individual incidents of abuse, harassment and violence that those women have experienced from men. Too often, we men can sympathise or even empathise, but our action goes no further than that. This can no longer be a burden for women alone to carry. It should never have been their fight alone in the first place. As men, we have to recognise our role in this - in calling out the threatening behaviours, in making clear what is and is not acceptable behaviour any more and in banishing misogyny from public life. It is time for us, as men, to step up.

The Government is acting on the need for substantial and radical change in how we address domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. As part of the programme for Government, we recognised the epidemic of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. We also recognised the fragmented nature of the State's responses and commissioned an audit of how the Government could better respond to these needs. Since coming into office, we have prioritised responding to domestic violence, particularly in the context of Covid. I wish to acknowledge the huge efforts by Tusla in responding quickly and effectively to the Covid restrictions as part of its response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV, and the protection of children. My Department has increased funding for domestic violence services and we will shortly be introducing a statutory entitlement to paid leave for victims of domestic violence. This paid leave provision will be brought forward within the work-life balance directive Bill to allow it to be passed as quickly as possible.

Since the formation of this Government, I have worked intensively with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and her Department on the audit of the Government’s response to domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence and how the results of that audit fit with the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. As a result of those discussions and in response to the audit, we have agreed that the Department of Justice will be the lead Department with responsibility for responding to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, and responsibility for policy, accommodation and services also will sit within the Department of Justice. In the immediate term, Tusla will continue to have responsibility for accommodation and services while the new administrative arrangements are put in place.

Within my own Department, I am particularly conscious of the impact of domestic violence on children. In the course of this work with providers in the area of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, it is clear to Tusla that in addition to adult victims, there is now an increased need for a specialist child protection focus in domestic violence cases. As part of the resource allocation for Tusla in 2022, using additional resources I secured for the agency in this year's budget, Tusla will allocate domestic violence and abuse support practitioners to each of the six new Tusla regions. These will be provided at the point where child protection referrals are received. Tusla has noted an increase in child protection concerns related to domestic violence and this initiative will enable child protection duty teams to further enhance the response to child protection and welfare referrals to Tusla where domestic violence is a concern. While retaining this permanently within Tusla's child protection service, Tusla, as an agency of my Department, will now work closely with the Department of Justice to ensure a smooth transition of all other domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services.

Many have referred to the tragic killing of Ashling Murphy as a watershed moment in Ireland for violence against women but it will only be a watershed moment if we choose it to be. All of us, but in particular men in Ireland, have to be clear that this is the moment we will no longer tolerate threats, harassment, misogyny in public life or violence against women in this country. This is the moment when we stand up and when we speak up and say enough is enough.

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