James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

"That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, I am pleased to introduce the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023 to the House. This is timely and much-needed legislation and the Minister and I hope it will attract the strong support of the House.

The key purpose of the Bill is to establish a dedicated and specialist State body under the aegis of the Minister for Justice with responsibility for driving and co-ordinating the whole-of-government response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV; ensuring the delivery of excellent services and facilities to victims and persons at risk of DSGBV, including refuge accommodation for all who may require it; and delivering public awareness campaigns and carrying out research to inform policy evaluation and development. The Bill also places a statutory onus on relevant public bodies to co-operate with the agency and with each other in support of their respective DSGBV responsibilities.

The programme for Government recognises that Ireland is experiencing an epidemic of DSGBV, which is consistent with global trends. For many reasons, tackling and reducing the prevalence of DSGBV presents significant challenges. Violence of this nature encompasses not only physical attacks but also coercive control, emotional and psychological abuse, intimidation and harassment. By nature, such behaviours are insidious and often hidden and may be deeply entrenched within relationships. Moreover, such behaviours are substantially enabled by certain outdated and ignorant attitudes that, regrettably, are still held by some in our society, in particular, the kinds of attitudes that can manifest in victim blaming, denial, trying to sweep it under the carpet or simply not recognising the gravity of an incident and the harms that it may have caused.

Equally, unfortunately, in many cases, victims blame themselves or else do not seek the help they need. Often it is because they are afraid and this fear can take many forms. It may be the fear of not being believed or of being blamed and ostracised. It could involve worries for one’s own safety or the safety of loved ones or perhaps a fear of breaking up the family. There may be financial concerns or worries about losing one’s home or just the general fear of an uncertain future. Often it is a combination of such fears that stops a victim from seeking the supports that are out there and inhibits them from seeking justice or from taking steps to end their victimisation and heal their suffering.

Clearly, DSGBV is complex, deep-rooted and difficult to tackle and, sadly, the evidence shows that it is widespread in society. That is a matter of profound concern and this Government fully recognises the need for ever more concerted and co-ordinated efforts to address this serious problem. We have responded strongly with the third national strategy on DSGBV, also known as the zero tolerance strategy, and a host of related measures.

The strategy and the new implementation structures it sets out are built on a recognition that the prevalence and complexity of DSGBV and the array of State bodies with relevant responsibilities require a genuinely joined-up and committed pan-governmental response. More than that, there needs to be a dedicated central resource to co-ordinate and continuously drive this work across Government to raise and maintain public awareness of DSGBV, to carry out research in support of future policy making and to ensure that victims and survivors can avail of the best possible facilities and services, including geographically accessible refuge accommodation for all who need it.

This Bill will create a new State body to do exactly those things with a permanent statutory mandate and ring-fenced resources to deliver on that mandate.

It will be led by a chief executive to be recruited by open competition, with strategic guidance and oversight from an expert non-executive board. Working closely together and with stakeholders across Government and civil society, the agency and its board will provide the expert focus and unflinching commitment needed by domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV.

By way of some further background, the Government's decision to introduce this Bill results from a process of careful consideration and stakeholder engagement, which began with the formation of the current Government. Under the mission of building stronger and safer communities, the programme for Government committed to a range of DSGBV related action. These included an immediate audit of how responsibility for DSGBV was segmented across different Government bodies, to be followed by proposals on the necessary arrangements to ensure the issue could be dealt with in the most effective manner possible. This structural audit was undertaken in consultation with a range of relevant Government Departments, agencies and civil society organisations. including DSGBV service providers.

In July 2021, the report of the audit was brought to Government jointly by the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The report recommended that policy leadership for DSGBV be placed clearly within a dedicated office in the Department of Justice. It further recommended that responsibility for funding DSGBV services be consolidated within the Department, along with responsibility for service development plans and other measures. The report also recommended that the proposed DSGBV office should lead joint working, holistic responses and the implementation and measurement of agreed strategies. The report stressed that the office should be given sufficient authority, resources and expertise to carry out its agreed functions.

The Minister for Justice considered the options to give best effect to these recommendations, and came to the conclusion that the most effective approach would be to establish a specialist, stand-alone statutory body with responsibility for co-ordinating the Government's response to DSGBV and ensuring the delivery of excellent services to victims. A Government decision in June 2022 endorsed this approach and it forms a central plank of the third national strategy, which commits to an enhanced whole-of-government response to tackling this scourge and to supporting victims and survivors. The strategy was developed under a process of co-design with the DSGBV sector, namely, the service providers and advocacy bodies which work directly and give voice to victims, survivors and persons at risk of DSGBV. The strategy envisages a number of headline functions for the agency, which have been reflected in the Bill. The strategy also affirms the lead responsibility of the Minister for Justice for DSGBV policy development with the agency to be tasked with aligning its work with Government policy while also generating evidence and advice to assist the Minister in policy evaluation and development.

In February this year, the Government approved the general scheme of the Bill, and work immediately began on drafting the legislation. The Bill, as presented, and the vision that underpins it have been informed by detailed engagement with key stakeholders. In addition to the central role of the DSGBV sector in designing the third national strategy and the role it sets out for the agency, the Department has engaged in detail with the sector in planning for how the agency will carry out its functions in practice. In drafting the Bill, close consideration was also given to the prelegislative scrutiny report of the Joint Committee on Justice, which was itself informed by submissions from the sector in addition to the committee’s own deliberations. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and myself, I thank the committee for so expediently producing its thoughtful and considered report. I also thank all those organisations that took the time to make submissions to the committee. The Bill includes several changes that reflect recommendations from the committee, including: a strengthening of the provisions on stakeholder engagement; an explicit provision that the agency shall have regard to the diverse needs and circumstances of victims; and a specific provision that the board membership shall include persons with DSGBV related experience and expertise.

I will now provide an outline of what is proposed in the Bill. It comprises a total of 45 sections across five Parts. Part 1 is a standard Part which sets out the Short Title, contains provisions for commencement of the Bill and expenses incurred in its administration, and defines key words and terms used in the Bill. Part 2 of the Bill establishes the agency and sets out its statutory functions. It further provides for the appointment of a chief executive and staff; for the establishment of a non-executive board and committees of the board; and various related matters. Part 2 also contains standard transitional provisions arising from the transfer of certain responsibilities from the Child and Family Agency, otherwise known as Tusla, to the new agency. These include Tusla’s current responsibilities for funding the provision of services to DSGBV victims and for overseeing the delivery of refuge accommodation.

The statutory name of the agency will be an ghníomhaireacht um fhoréigean baile, gnéasach agus inscnebhunaithe, which translates as the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency. A non-statutory name for day-to-day use will be developed separately. The functions of the agency will include: planning, co-ordinating and monitoring the development of refuge accommodation; providing support, including financial assistance, for the provision of services, including those delivered within refuges, for victims and persons at risk of DSGBV; developing standards for the delivery of funded services; and monitoring adherence to those standards. Its functions will also include: co-ordinating and overseeing the implementation of relevant Government strategies and plans; delivering public campaigns for the purpose of raising awareness of DSGBV and reducing its occurrence in society; publishing information on the DSGBV services and supports available; and conducting or commissioning research to inform the evaluation of DSGBV policies, strategies and services; and to support the discharge of the agency's wider duties.

The Bill provides that the Minister may, by order, confer related functions on the agency. Provision is also made that the agency will collaborate and engage appropriately with relevant persons in performing its functions. The Bill provides that the agency shall act through, and its functions shall be performed by, its chief executive, who shall be appointed by the Minister on foot of a recruitment process conducted in accordance with the applicable public service legislation. The chief executive’s functions shall include managing and controlling the staff and business of the agency and providing the board, the Minister and the Accounting Officer of the Department of Justice with the information they require. The chief executive will be responsible to the Minister for the performance of his or her functions and for the implementation of the agency’s corporate plan and annual business plan. The Bill provides that the staff of the agency shall be provided by the Minister and will be civil servants of the Government. Provision is also made for secondments to the agency from other bodies. In addition, provision is made for the transfer of certain employees of the Child and Family Agency to the new agency. The Bill includes standard provisions to protect the terms and conditions of service, tenure, remuneration and superannuation of any staff transferring from Tusla. The Bill provides that the board will be appointed by the Minister from among persons with experience or expertise in DSGBV matters, in organisational governance and management, or in other matters pertinent to the functions of the agency. It will be a non-executive board with a chairperson and six ordinary members. The main functions of the board will be to provide strategic direction to the agency, to oversee and appraise the implementation of the agency’s corporate plan and annual business plan, to promote high standards of corporate governance in the agency and to provide policy advice and recommendations to the Minister. The Bill also provides that the board may establish such committees as it sees fit to assist and advise it in its work. This is an important provision as it will enable the board and the agency to access, in a structured yet flexible manner, insights and expertise from a broad range of sectoral experts, individuals of diverse backgrounds and other stakeholders.

Part 3 of the Bill provides for the preparation of a multi-annual corporate plan, an annual business plan, annual reports and accounts, other reports as may be requested by the Minister, and various related matters. It also provides for the appearance of the chief executive before the Committee of Public Accounts and other Oireachtas committees. Part 3 additionally provides that the Minister may issue general policy directives to the agency or give a specific direction to the agency on any relevant matter.

Every three years, the chief executive shall be required to prepare a multi-annual corporate plan for the agency for approval by the Minister, with or without amendment. In preparing the plan, the chief executive shall be required to consult the Minister, the board and other relevant persons and to have regard to their views. The chief executive shall also prepare and submit to the Minister an annual business plan for the agency and, again, will be required to consult the board and to have regard to its views. As I mentioned earlier, the board will have a statutory role in overseeing the implementation of both the corporate plan and the annual business plan. The agency’s annual report will include the board’s appraisal of how these plans have been implemented.

In addition to the requirement to provide an annual report to the Minister, the chief executive shall be required to prepare annual accounts for the agency and to submit these to the Comptroller and Auditor General. A further layer of accountability is provided by the provisions that require the chief executive to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts and other Oireachtas committees, where requested, to give account for the general administration of the agency.

Part 4 of the Bill sets out the terms under which the agency may provide funding to relevant service providers and sets out the accountability obligations of such providers. It obliges a funded provider to give the agency such information as it may require, including audited annual accounts, other financial information and details of the services being provided.

Part 5 of the Bill provides that a public service body, as defined in the Bill or as designated by the Minister, shall co-operate with the agency for the purpose of the performance of the agency's functions. Provision is also made that, where so requested, public service bodies shall co-operate with each other for the purposes of their respective functions where these relate to increasing awareness and understanding of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence or helping victims and persons at risk. "Co-operation" is specified as including the sharing of documents and information, including statistical information. These provisions on co-operation are intended to give statutory expression to the principle that tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a multidepartmental and multi-agency responsibility and that the bodies will need to co-operate with the agency and with each other to that end. Finally, provision is also made for consequential amendments to the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and to the National Archives Act 1986.

The publication of this Bill is a strong demonstration of this Government's commitment to tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in all of its manifestations. Once established, this agency will be instrumental in driving forward the whole-of-government zero-tolerance approach that underpins the third national strategy. Most importantly of all, it will make a positive difference to the many lives blighted by these appalling forms of violence and abuse.

I have no doubt that every Member of the House appreciates the need for the State to step up and to better co-ordinate its response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and its support for all those impacted by this scourge. The agency will be a key driver of this change and my Department and other stakeholders are working hard to prepare the ground so that the agency will be in a position to commence operations early in the new year. As Deputies will be aware, the establishment of this agency is keenly awaited by the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence sector, by other observers including the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and relevant international monitoring bodies, and, above all, by many ordinary people who have been affected by domestic, sexual or gendered violence and abuse. As such, the Minister for Justice and I are very hopeful that the House will firmly support this Bill and expedite its passage through the Oireachtas. I look forward to all contributions in the course of our debate and would be happy to address any aspects of the legislation that Deputies wish to raise today and, indeed, subsequently. Both the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I look forward to the debate on this Bill and I am pleased to commend it to the House.

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