Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the debate, particularly on the issue of domestic violence in all of its forms. It does not have to bruise or break to be abuse. There is mental, emotional and psychological abuse; destroying the victim's self-esteem day in and day out; financial control; depriving the victim of financial independence; isolation from family and friends and any support network; and coercive and controlling behaviour. The Garda is the first line of enforcement and of protection for women and children caught up in these horrible situations but what if there are not enough gardaí in one's area or if the local Garda station is a part-time one?

Domestic abuse situations have no care for part-time Garda rosters. In my home town of Monasterevin in County Kildare, the Garda station is only staffed from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. There is one Garda car between Monasterevin and Rathangan; and Athy and Newbridge are half an hour away. The advice on the Garda website is to call your local Garda station for an immediate response if required. Do the Minister expect any woman in my constituency in an emergency situation to call 999 and simply to wait for the Garda from Kildare to get to her?

This morning, I tried very hard to get through to any one of the Monasterevin, Athy or Kildare Garda stations multiple times. I have a record of this on my phone. I received no response anywhere and the calls rang out. In desperation I called the chief superintendent in Naas headquarters who did answer, only to be directed from there to Naas Garda station. They could not, apparently, take my call and transferred me, yet again, to a call centre. Guess where the call centre was? It was in Waterford. If I was a woman who was being beaten up, does the Minister honestly think I could hang on to be transferred? This is an utter disgrace and totally unacceptable. No wonder women do not feel safe or protected. The Women's Aid, Aoibhneas and Stop Domestic Violence in Ireland agencies and support groups are amazing but they are not the fourth emergency service.

The Minister's promises and platitudes for tackling domestic violence in all its forms are useless until we have more gardaí, Garda stations that are actually staffed and calls that are actually answered. I acknowledge the work she is doing but there is a lot more to be done. It is time to actually protect women. We need more gardaí and less promises; and a zero-tolerance strategy to be implemented. I hope that by the end of business this evening someone will find a garda in Monasterevin.

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