Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I thank the Leader and the Senators who pursued this issue for ensuring this important debate took place. Domestic violence is a serious issue. We do not know what goes on behind people's doors from the time they close them at night to coming out the following day. The situation has been and remains merciless and traumatic for the hundreds and thousands of women, in particular, who have been subjected to violence by partners, husbands or male relatives, down through the years. I can only begin to imagine what it is like for people to be in such a life-threatening situation.

I want to focus on services in rural areas. Senator Minihan pointed out the many fine services in Cork city, in particular, the Cork counselling service. However, in rural areas where people are victims and are subjected to horrendous abuse they do not always have the ready option of leaving. The question of where they can go arises, particularly when they have young children because people do not want to see somebody landing on a doorstep with three or four young children because they have been forced to leave their home as a result of violence. There are some good centres that offer a haven. However, there is a risk that the perpetrators of violence may go looking for the girlfriend or partner and threaten the safety of that haven. Some people do not wish to go to shelters. We need to examine the broad range of services and how they can be extended. There are no limits to domestic violence in terms of towns, cities or villages. The problem is everywhere and this must be reflected in terms of Government action. We must recognise that these services have a role in rural areas. Like Senator Norris, I welcome some recent developments, including the increase in civil legal aid, the amendment of the in camera rule and the development by the national steering committee of a strategic plan to tackle violence against women. While I hope such welcome and practical measures will improve the services offered to people who encounter domestic violence, I am concerned that they will not go far enough to combat the problem.

I compliment Women's Aid on its publication of an informative, detailed and well researched briefing document on domestic violence. While I do not wish to bore the House with many statistics, I would like to highlight some of the issues raised in the document. The national domestic violence helpline, which is open for 12 hours a day seven days a week, received almost 20,000 calls in 2004. It is a phenomenal level of use of any service. One of the most regrettable statistics — it is tinged with sadness — in the Women's Aid document is that two in every five calls to the helpline are not answered due to a lack of resources. That is not good enough in this day and age. During Private Members' time last evening, the House discussed the level of funding given to sport. Many Senators mentioned that the economy can afford to allocate the money that is needed to implement real measures in such areas. It is important to emphasise again, in the context of this debate, that the State is in such good fiscal health that it can facilitate the allocation of resources to all sectors.

I would like to highlight a chilling quote from the report of the Government task force on violence against women: "Whether it be sexual assault, rape, physical assault or emotional abuse, women are at greater risk from husbands, boyfriends, male relatives and acquaintances than from strangers." That is quite disturbing and extremely worrying. When we think of violence, we think of being mugged or having one's wallet taken in a dark alley. I did not think, until I encountered the statistical evidence I have mentioned, that the cowardly thugs who perpetrate the evil abuse of other human beings are most likely to be husbands, boyfriends and partners. Such people are not fit for society.

Local authorities have a real role to play in combating domestic violence. I recently encountered the case of a married woman who had to leave her home when her children came of age and started to tackle their father. The squabbling between her husband and her children was particularly bad at weekends when alcohol had been consumed. Her home life became unbearable as her children started to retaliate against their father. The woman in question, who required private rented accommodation because she was leaving a local authority house, had to borrow a significant amount of money from a relative to pay her deposit and rent. The local authority has informed the woman that it cannot consider her housing need and that of her family because she and her husband are officially listed as joint tenants of the family home. The local authority's explanation that it is not in a position to meet the housing needs of a woman who was being kicked, punched and beaten every weekend, until she finally plucked up the courage and acquired the means to leave, defies logic.