Dáil debates

Wednesday, 22 March 2006

Adjournment Debate.

Violence Against Women.

8:00 pm

Photo of Séamus HealySéamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this issue of services for women affected by domestic and sexual violence. I have raised it in the House on a number of occasions. As a long-standing director of the women's refuge in Clonmel, Cuan Saothar, I have a particular interest in the matter.

I call on the Government to fund these services properly and to remove the cap on them which has in effect been in place since 2002, which is having a very adverse effect and is hindering the development of the services. Domestic and sexual violence occurs all over the world and is widespread in Ireland too. The underfunding of the services is unacceptable and is false economy. We must immediately remove the capping on the funding. The lack of funds undermines the abilities of the services to address the extensive, pervasive and ongoing effects of sexual and domestic violence.

The trauma of that violence has been proven to be less severe, long-term and disruptive to a person's life when addressed through immediate support and counselling. Consistent underfunding means these centres are prevented from providing the critical early intervention which they are uniquely equipped to provide.

We know that one in every six survivors of sexual violence will become a psychiatric hospital inpatient, compared with one in 46 of the non-abused population. Some 50% of sexual violence survivors will be prescribed anti-depressant medication compared with 9% of the non-abused population. Without access to immediate and expert care, a survivor experiencing flashbacks, panic attacks and other symptoms is likely to make repeated and long-term demands on local general practitioners, on the mental health services and on other health services. The funding of these centres is urgent, as is the removal of the cap. It is false economy not to fund these services properly.

I refer in particular to two centres in my own constituency, Cuan Saothar, a women's refuge based in Clonmel which provides a service for all of south Tipperary, and the south Tipperary rape crisis centre, also located in Clonmel and providing a service for the entire county. Both centres are under severe financial pressure. Cuan Saothar provides residential facilities for women suffering violence as well as information, support and outreach services, while the rape crisis centre in Clonmel provides services throughout the county. Both centres will have significant deficits by the end of the year, €20,000 in the case of the rape crisis centre and €90,000 in the case of Cuan Saothar. They provide services to vulnerable people throughout the county.

However, this is a nationwide problem. There are many other centres dealing with domestic and sexual violence and the area has not been properly funded, at least since 2002. Properly supporting people in these vulnerable situations is a measure of the sort of people we are, the country we are, the culture we have and the Government we have. I call on the Minister to remove the capping and properly fund these services. Not to do so is a false economy.

9:00 pm

Photo of Michael D HigginsMichael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Mine is a related matter. I have sought permission from the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to raise the urgent need for Government funding to enable the Galway rape crisis centre to continue to provide its services. Such additional funding will enable it to meet its shortfall in the current year and lay the basis for an expanded service, given the heavy public demand.

As we have just heard, there is an urgent need to put the funding on a secure basis. The Galway rape crisis centre, for example, receives €180,000 in the current year while its need is about €360,000. It could provide a comprehensive service for about €570,000 annually. One might therefore well ask if this involves the provision of a basic right. Reason suggests the funding be provided on a statutory basis rather than relying on voluntary fundraising year in, year out. In the 22 years since the centre was founded there have been many crises and the centre has had to be saved time and again. It has 11 members of staff. It began as a service run by volunteers to become one that has six part-time councillors and project workers, two education workers, two part-time administrators, a co-ordinator, and ten to 15 volunteers.

The position is simple. Because of what is available, it can run a service that is operational for five and a half hours per day Monday to Friday and three hours on a Saturday but no service on Sunday. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, will be aware of the SAVI report in 2001 which reported on the whole area of sexual violence. One of the most disturbing findings of that report was the reluctance of victims to report or speak about their experience. They find the setting of the rape crisis centres very satisfactory in terms of the counselling and professional care. The care is not just provided on the premises. It extends to accompanying victims, to reporting and visiting them. When I say a service that would be complete and full, what I mean is a service that would be able to extend into these reasonable areas where there is a demand for it.

In this day and age we must realise that recovery from a sexual attack, which is traumatic, takes a long time. We have just heard from Deputy Healy the long-term consequences in terms of the treatment and also the difficulty and failure to recover. The service should be provided on a rights basis with adequate supporting statutory funding. The idea, for example, that the service might continue or not on the basis of voluntary funding through participation in, say, the women's marathon or something similar, is no longer satisfactory. In the current year, as I understand it, the centre needs an extra €300,000. If one takes the figure which appears frozen at approximately €180,000, it has to be unfrozen immediately.

In most cities of the size of Galway there is a sexual assault unit. For example, there is one in the local hospitals in Tralee and Waterford and in the Rotunda in Dublin. If such a unit was attached to a Galway hospital it would be a useful and valuable ancillary support. It would mean that all these centres and services could be provided. They are not a luxury but a basic right. It is no longer acceptable that they would move from one precarious situation to another given that they provide such a valuable and necessary service.

Most of the survey work for the SAVI report was carried out in July 2001, almost five years ago. That report made eight specific recommendations ranging from education, the removal of all barriers to access to reporting and so on and, the important point, that the extension of services be anticipated and provided in advance before the need became so demonstrated that it could not be avoided. I ask the Minister of State to make an announcement that he intends to address these issues as a matter of urgency.

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am taking the Adjournment on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I thank Deputies Healy and Michael Higgins for raising this matter.

The national steering committee on violence against women was established following the report of the task force on violence against women in 1977. It is chaired by the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Fahey. My Department is represented on the national steering committee and the Health Service Executive is also represented.

The purpose of the national steering committee is to provide a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency and cohesive response to the problem of violence against women and in so doing to progress the recommendations of the task force. The steering committee is representative of a wide range of interests concerned with violence against women and has a number of objectives which include ensuring that regional and local structures are established, developing public awareness campaigns; co-ordinating and advising on the distribution of resources among the health regions; and co-ordinating and advising on ongoing development of policies including those concerning perpetrators, criminal justice intervention, services and supports.

Last year the national steering committee undertook a national review of sexual assault treatment services. That report is complete and is due for publication in the coming weeks. The Tánaiste is keen to see the recommendations from this report treated as a priority within the Health Service Executive and that the HSE funding priorities for 2007 will reflect this.

The Government is committed to working with all interested parties including service providers and has undertaken a range of measures to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, to respond to the needs of victims and perpetrators and to raise awareness among the public about the dynamics of this crime. These measures can be seen across a wide range of Government policy. They include legislative measures, Garda response, health services, the national steering committee on violence against women and national research and treatment programmes for perpetrators.

A key indicator of Government commitment to the issue can be seen in the funding for service provision. Funding for service provision for victims is channelled primarily through the Health Service Executive Vote. In addition, the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Education and Science, Social and Family Affairs, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government also contribute to responding to the issue.

Funding in the health sector has risen from approximately €3.8 million in 1997 to approximately €12 million in 2005. This shows the commitment of Government and of my Department to addressing this important issue. The allocation of this funding including to individual rape crisis centres is a matter for the Health Service Executive. The Health Service Executive, formerly the health boards, has worked closely for many years with a range of NGOs, including the rape crisis centres. My Department will continue to monitor the level of investment in services for victims of sexual offences, including rape.

The provision of all emergency housing, including women's refuges, is a matter for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Funding is provided to the Health Service Executive for the operation of existing refuges. My Department will continue to monitor the level of investment in these services also. The Tánaiste has asked the Department, together with the Health Service Executive, to undertake an analysis of the level of service provision in the "violence against women area" with a view to planning future service needs. This report which has recently been completed will inform future service planning and provision. The Health Service Executive has responsibility to ensure a more equitable and consistent approach to service delivery and the funding of these services throughout the country and I understand has commenced a review of arrangements.

In regard to the Galway rape crisis centre, the Health Service Executive acknowledges the valuable work the centre provides and will continue to work in partnership with the centre. The Health Service Executive has confirmed that it met the Galway rape crisis centre in January and has allocated funding for 2006.

Photo of Michael D HigginsMichael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Will the Minister of State look at that again to see if the funding can be increased?

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I will. The executive will continue to engage with the organisation in the context of service demands and development requirements. Recently, the Tánaiste received a delegation of the relevant "violence against women" organisations providing front line service responses to violence against women. The Tánaiste acknowledged the key role played by the NGOs in this sector and recorded her appreciation of the important work they do. She is considering the report presented by the delegation at that meeting.

In keeping with the recommendations of the task force for violence against women, the Health Service Executive works through the regional planning committees to determine the needs of their localities and to co-ordinate statutory and voluntary approaches to these needs.

I will take this matter up. I understand the urgency of the matter and the essential requirement and will speak to the Tánaiste about it.