Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the issue of Tusla's report and the review of the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic violence, as the Deputy will know, the Minister for Justice said last week that she would be taking overall responsibility for policy and wraparound services. She will therefore be publishing that review along with both interim and medium-term plans to provide for and develop those places, which we need. The Deputy has highlighted this need in respect of Roscommon. The report was submitted to the Ministers, Deputies O'Gorman and Naughton, and presented to the monitoring committee for the national strategy. There is significant underprovision in eight counties and other counties could also do with more places. From a capital perspective, the funding is there to be provided. Operationally, we need to move much faster. My understanding is that, under the present arrangements, a group has to apply to become a social housing body. My personal observation is that this is too unwieldy. The Minister wants to talk to the NGOs and organisations involved and to put some further ideas to them. The strategy on gender-based violence will go for consultation again to make sure that people are comfortable with all of its aspects. The Minister wants to make sure that, when we publish the review, we also have a delivery mechanism.

In the interim, local authorities should work now with service providers to provide additional places. There will be some structural changes following the strategy but we cannot wait until then. We should start working now, where feasible. Deputy Fleming has been working with a local group in Laois and has said they have basically reached agreement with regard to the development of a centre there. That decision was arrived at locally and the local authority and others were involved. The group is going to apply for approved social housing body status.

We need to move faster with regard to the provision of places. We should design these centres properly. There should be, in essence, a national design. We must then provide the requisite funding to provide proper services because many services have grown from the ground up, acquiring buildings and adding onto them. We should design proper, comprehensive centres that accommodate all needs and facilitate the work of professionals. There should be proper rooms and facilities for proper engagement with children and women in such centres.

The Deputy mentioned the situation in Roscommon. We are quite happy to work with the local authority there. I will mention the issue to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and to the Minister for Justice. I am satisfied that this will work out in the medium term as the strategy is developing and that we will have a better system in place to deal with the provision of places but we need to do work in the interim to provide more places for the women who need them.

On Deputy Paul Murphy's question, these are cases that are coming before the courts and it is not appropriate for me to comment on them. I do not believe this country is criminalising protest at all. I am committed to parliamentary democracy and to the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of speech. I have always been committed to those universal rights. I am thankful that this country celebrates those rights. We are part of the European Union, which remains one of the last bastions protecting these rights. I agree with the American President that the world is becoming increasingly polarised between authoritarian regimes and democratic regimes.

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