David Norris (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State. This matter concerns the Meath women's refuge and support services and the severe cutback in support made by the Government. I wish to give the context for this issue which concerns violence against women. The Minister of State, who is a cultivated, literate man from a cultivated, literate family will, I am sure, remember a very powerful work by Roddy Doyle entitled "The Woman Who Walked into Doors". This described a woman who was subject to consistent battering by her husband and who was in a situation of denial, which many women are. When they come out of that, they sometimes seek the support of services such as women's refuges. I have been aware of this issue for some time because one of the first times I did my James Joyce one-man shows was to raise funds for the women's refuge in Rathmines. At that stage, I was briefed by them and discovered the vital nature of the services in which they are involved.

Cutbacks in these kinds of areas, where people are very vulnerable, are a direct contradiction of what was said by a Government spokesman when people like me on this side of the House said we would support the Government in the difficult economic circumstances as long as the most vulnerable people were not targeted. It seems vulnerable people are targeted repeatedly. It is for that reason groups such as the Equality Authority and the Combat Poverty Agency were systematically dismantled by the Government.

The facts about domestic violence in Ireland are very worrying. Some 146 women have been murdered in the Republic of Ireland since 1996. Of the 107 resolved cases, 50% were murdered by a partner or ex-partner. Last night a programme on RTE gave extensive coverage to the murder of a young Sligo woman who was murdered by a former partner, a man who was apparently in love with her. He murdered her and skipped across the Border. He was incarcerated in a mental facility but is now living within a short distance of the family. Some 50% of this large number of murders were carried out by a partner or former partner or spouse. Some 92 women, 63%, were murdered in their own homes. This demonstrates the nature or type of the murderer and the location.

In 2007, almost 3,000 children were accommodated in refuges around Ireland. The majority of women accommodated in refuges have at least one child. Some 64% of Irish women who experienced domestic violence reported that their children had witnessed the violence. There is, therefore, continuing damage. In such cases it is psychological damage, the damage of trauma and of seeing one parent savagely abuse another.

Since its establishment, the refuge in Meath has provided crisis accommodation to 1,377 women and 2,343 children to the end of 2008. The specific situation that affects the Meath women's refuge and support services is as follows. Recently a cut of 30% in funding has been implemented. The refuge was informed of this cut without notice or negotiation at a meeting on 8 April 2009. The budget cut, of the order of €10,000 per month or €120,000 per year, was implemented from 1 April and will continue indefinitely. If it continues, the services will be severely curtailed.

The Meath women's refuge and support service is a registered charity governed by a board of management. It has been in operation for the past 21 years, and provides a wide range of services to women in the Meath area who are victims of domestic violence. Such services include crisis refuge accommodation for almost 1,500 women and 2,500 children in that time. The refuge has a very good reputation and is highly regarded professionally. It has worked closely and positively with State agencies, community services and local businesses. The refuge takes referrals from a wide range of organisations in Meath, including the HSE, for example, social workers, public health nurses, general practitioners and accident and emergency units. It has a kind of semi-State function.

In 2008 the organisation received €331,167 from the HSE for refuge provision and accommodated 71 women and 90 children. Demand for the services is very high and increasing. The annual cost for providing safe accommodation and support to each woman and child is approximately €2,050. For many, and this is crucial, this is the cost of keeping them alive. It was for that reason I provided the statistics on murder and its context and the relationship between the murderer and the victim. The cost of keeping someone alive, at €2,050, seems to me pretty good value. The refuge also gives these very vulnerable women and children the support to live their lives safely. There is no alternative service in Meath. If the refuge is inhibited or closed, there is nothing to take up the slack. If this service was provided directly by the State, it is estimated the costs would be three times greater, about €6,000 per person. The 30% reduction in the budget of €10,000 per month will have serious implications for the vulnerable women and children from Meath who avail of these services. I ask the Minister of State to revisit this situation in light of the serious situation that has been precipitated by this severe cutback.