Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When the Minister for Justice talks of a zero tolerance approach to domestic and gender-based violence, I cannot but agree with her. It is one of the most horrendous crimes of which a person can be a victim. I think of my home as a sanctuary that I can retreat to after a tough day at work, a place of peace and comfort. For those who are attacked, often the violence directed against them occurs in their home, their supposed safe place.

One of the dark impacts of the Covid lockdown periods was a measurable increase in the number of domestic and sexual violence incidents reported to An Garda Síochána. I said at the time that domestic and gender-based violence is a problem that has always been with us and that it permeates every socioeconomic group and every ethnicity. That remains the case.

Some say we are in an epidemic of domestic violence. I disagree. An epidemic suggests there has been a sudden increase in it, but it has always been with us. Unfortunately, it has always been there. It has never gone away. I was extremely proud to introduce the Organisation of Working Time (Domestic Violence) Bill 2019 with my party colleague and leader, Deputy McDonald, and I am proud to support any effort aimed at eradicating this scourge that, unfortunately, mainly affects women.

There is a danger when we talk of statistics that their use dilutes the reality of the suffering victims endure, but the statistics are startling. One in five women will experience violence in their own home, and 41% of Irish women know someone who has experienced such violence at the hands of a partner. Indeed, murder victims in Ireland are more likely to be innocent women in their own homes than victims of criminal disputes. We ratified the Istanbul Convention, and we are building on that. As such, I am supportive of the creation of a dedicated statutory agency. The aims of the agency are ambitious: to support and oversee the delivery of refuge, to fund services for victims and persons at risk, and to deliver campaigns and to roll out research.

If such an agency were implemented fully and guaranteed the necessary resources, it would be a strong weapon to use in the fight back against the prevalence of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV. The crux of the issue, though, is whether this agency be properly funded and supported with guaranteed multi-annual committed funding and resources. If this agency is to deliver for victims, it needs to have teeth and the power to compel other agencies to collaborate with it. Unfortunately, this power seems to be absent from the Bill. Establishing the agency should focus on approaches to DSGBV through one agency, but for it to be a success and for it to deliver, it must have the funding to do so. I urge the Minster to ensure it is provided with all necessary funding to deliver on its important mission.

One of the key responsibilities of the agency is to support and oversee the delivery of refuge accommodation for victims of domestic and gender-based violence, but faith in this Government to deliver refuge accommodation is in short supply. It is more than a year since Tusla published its review on accommodation for victims, and since then there has been no significant delivery of additional refuge spaces in the counties that currently have no available accommodation. The creation of additional refuge spaces must be a priority of the Government, but its actions to date suggest it is not such a priority. In 2022, for instance, more than 850 people in Dublin alone were denied such refuge because the accommodation spaces were all full.

We have an obligation to prevent another generation of women and girls from experiencing misogyny and gender-based violence. If properly funded, this agency has the capacity to aid in this noble effort. When I last spoke on this issue in this Chamber, I said zero tolerance must be the clarion call to all of us, particularly men and boys, as we go about our daily lives. I will continue to hold that belief and I will support any effort that embraces and aids those who have suffered the twin evil of domestic and gender-based violence.

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