Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, for attending for an important catch-up on domestic violence and domestic violence funding in the budget for 2023. As the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will know, I have taken opportunities over the year to highlight the names of victims of femicide – women identified by Women's Aid as having been killed since 1997 – to keep their names in the debate on domestic, gender-based and sexual violence. My doing so follows the outpouring of grief after the death of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore in January of this year.

The 19 women who died from domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in the month of September since 1997 are Elizabeth McCarthy, Maeve Byrne, Bettina Poeschel, Anna Finnegan, Theresa Doherty, Lisa Doyle, Ingrida Maciokaite, Linda Dunne, Ann Henry, Janet Mooney, Brenda Ahern, Sharon Coughlan, Melissa Mahon, Sheila McDonagh, Margaret Fahy, Eileen O'Sullivan, Marie O'Brien, Patricia Kierans and Raonaid Murray. I will never forget when Raonaid Murray died. We were about the same age. It was the first week back at college after the summer. Raonaid was a very young girl. Her killer has still not been found. Her family is from Glenageary, in my constituency. Her death was one that I remember with particular pain.

The 22 women and girls who died in October since 1997 are Charlene McAulliffe, Rachel O'Reilly, Amanda Jenkins, Geraldine Kissane, Manuela Riedo, Christina Hackett, Rebecca French, Meg Walsh, Joanne Mangan, Gillian Thornton, Marion O'Leary, Lorraine O'Connor, Amanda Carroll, Joselita da Silva, Kathleen Cuddihy, Rosemary Dowling, Aoife Phelan, Anne Colomines, Rachel Kiely, Natalie McGuinness, Seema Banu and Catherine Mullins. A number of those women's children were killed at the same time.

Doing this every two months is to give the women a name and voice on the Dáil record, because they were voiceless in death, and to remember them. It is also with a view to our being consistent in our follow-up and response to the very violent incidents that can happen. There is little point in expressing grief, shock and outrage without follow-up actions, whether these involve remembering all the women in a consistent way, in the way we do, or the follow-up that the Department of Justice has been engaged in for some time, particularly through the publication of the third strategy earlier this year and the funding that goes with that.

I congratulate the Department on its work over recent years on consolidating its policy and delivery role regarding domestic, gender-based and sexual violence of services. As the Minister of State will know, I have been critical of the disparate approaches across agencies and of how this led to a lack of delivery in some circumstances. It was not the primary role of Tusla, for example. Domestic violence services, in particular, lost out as a consequence of that.

The most important way they have lost out is through the lack of clarity on their funding. I refer particularly to a lack of multi-annual funding that would allow them to plan for the development of their services not just this year, but into next year, and to engage in capital project planning alongside the day-to-day delivery of services. I am keen to hear the Minister of State's update on the Department's perspective on this matter, particularly with regard to the multi-annual funding element, which would be of great significance to domestic violence service providers and partners of government all over the country.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Carroll MacNeill for raising the very important and serious issue of domestic violence and the funding granted by the Government to deal with this very serious matter.

As the Deputy is aware, earlier this year the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, launched Zero Tolerance, our third national strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It is an ambitious five-year programme of reform and a whole-of-society plan of action. It builds on the substantial progress made through the implementation of the second national strategy and will further progress a number of important actions contained in Supporting a Victim's Journey. It was developed in partnership with the sector to ensure it is targeted, comprehensive and effective in achieving all of the goals set out and is built on the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention, namely, prevention, protection, prosecution and policy co-ordination.

A central element of the strategy is that everyone who needs a refuge space should be able to access one. As a start, this strategy commits to doubling the number of refuge places. This will be the fastest ever expansion of refuge spaces. We will also work to deliver additional safe home and step-down accommodation. When people are faced with the difficult choice to leave an abusive situation, the Minister wants them to know exactly where they can turn to for help. This will be done through the creation of clear integrated local pathways for adults and child victims and survivors to access information, services and supports.

Implementation of the third national strategy is a whole-of-government priority, backed up by a substantial funding commitment under budget 2023. Under budget 2023, the Minister was able to secure an extra €9 million for 2023, a 22% increase representing record funding for combating domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. This €9 million includes increased funding of €7 million for organisations funded by Tusla to address acute service demands in existing services throughout the country and for investment in new services as outlined in Zero Tolerance. This brings the total allocated to Tusla for funding domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services up to €37 million.

Separate from this, we have allocated over €6 million for measures to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence such as awareness raising campaign measures and funding the Choices programme for reforming perpetrators of domestic violence. Again, this represents a record level of funding in this area.

A further €5.8 million has been allocated to promote and assist the development of specific support services for victims of crime within the criminal justice system, which of course includes victims of domestic and sexual crime. These services provide important information and support such as emotional support, court accompaniment, accompaniment to Garda interviews and sexual assault treatment units and referral to other services. Tusla will be engaging with funded domestic, sexual and gender-based violence organisations on service and funding agreements for 2023 over the coming weeks. Specific funding to individual organisations will be agreed as part of that process and the Minister will be able to provide more information to the House once the details on core funding have been notified to the individual organisations.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Government is to provide funding agreements for 2023 in the coming weeks. That is a big improvement. It seems so obvious that funding for 2023 should be agreed in 2022 but I have worked with organisations that have received funding for a given calendar year which was only signed off on in November of that same year. Obviously, they cannot work in that way. Not all of those people whose names I have read out were in situations of domestic violence. The violence against some, including Ashling Murphy and Raonaid Murray, which was at the most extreme end of the scale, was random in nature. However, that is not to say that domestic violence does not need to be treated with the same seriousness.

I have two questions. To what degree have domestic violence spaces been expanded already in 2022? Is there any update on the provision of a refuge in Dún Laoghaire, which does not have one? The funding is available, the local authority is behind the proposal and the Department has been engaged but it has still not been delivered. An update on that would be very helpful.

I will make one more point. As the Minister of State has said, refuge spaces are needed for people to get out of violent situations but they can also be needed at different stages of the criminal justice process. I am working with a woman and, with regard to her case, there is an arrest pending in whatever period of time. Even where people have already managed to very bravely get themselves out of difficult and violent situations, new moments of risk and threat can be created throughout the criminal justice process. It is really important that the Department is aware of that and of the safety needs of individuals, as I know An Garda Síochána is. There can be a requirement for people to go into safe and protected spaces at different stages of the criminal justice process. I ask that the Department anticipate that as it builds out refuge spaces. They are not just needed in emergency situations.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I do not have specific numbers with regard to the expansion of spaces in 2022 or details on the situation in Dún Laoghaire but I will get answers for the Deputy from the Department in that regard. I will also bring the Deputy's concerns with regard to expanding the availability of refuge spaces beyond emergency situations to victims who need to attend court at various stages in the criminal justice process.

On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It is a priority of the Minister for Justice to tackle domestic violence through the provision of victim-centred supports and services and ensuring that perpetrators are punished, along with the important prevention work to address the behaviour and attitudes that underlie these types of violence. Last month, the Minister hosted a Council of Europe ministerial conference to help ensure that this is a priority right across Europe as well as here in Ireland.

To deliver the types of excellent services, supports and accommodation that victims and survivors deserve and to set world-class standards in service provision, we are now in the process of establishing a statutory agency with a dedicated focus on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence under the aegis of the Department of Justice. The agency will have a specific mandate to drive the implementation of the new strategy across government, bringing the expertise and focus required to tackle this complex social issue. The new agency will work collaboratively with the NGO and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services sector to ensure that the best possible services are in place to meet the needs of victims and survivors. It is our objective to establish the new agency on 1 January 2024. In the interim, a memorandum of understanding solidifying the working relationship between the Department of Justice, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Tusla ensures services continue and expand and keeps me up to date on developments in the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence sector. The Minister knows there is much to do but, along with our Government colleagues, we are determined to do whatever is necessary.