Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Other Senators in the House today have highlighted the issue of sexual abuse and how it is dealt with in Ireland. It is essential that the message goes to the Government, and the Deputy Leader conveys it, that the SAVI II report, that has been awaited for over a decade, be delivered. Research is long needed into the extent of sexual abuse and violence in Ireland and a report must be delivered. Recently the Taoiseach has commented that the €1 million for research, which is a paltry sum, has been redirected to legal aid for victims. That measure adds insult to injury. It should not be necessary to choose between legal aid and research to challenge the issue across the country. It is not too much to ask that €2 million is provided. By that I mean the Government should give over €1 million for legal aid and €1 million for essential research on sexual violence, particularly as such research is long overdue and promised for over a decade.

I ask the Deputy Leader to ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to expedite the return of the Domestic Violence Bill to this House. The legislation is very much near completion. It contains, as very clearly requested by this House, the specific crime of coercive control. We have seen the horror of grooming in respect of young people. Coercive control is a serious issue that affects many people in society and needs to be tackled. I want us to have an opportunity to tackle it in this House before Christmas.

The main issue I want to highlight is the trial of 11 human rights defenders that began in Turkey today. Ten of them were arrested following a human rights workshop organised by a group called IHOP. The group brought together exactly what we need in society, the human rights advocates from an Islamic and feminist backgrounds and people who worked for LGBT rights equality. The group facilitated dialogue between all of those interested in rights issues across Turkish society. It reflected the diversity of that interest in Turkish society. The 11 people have been arrested and detained on trumped-up charges. I request that the Irish Government ensures that the Irish embassy observes and pays due attention to the trial. I know that the embassy has a capacity to do so.I understand other European embassies have sent witnesses to observe the proceedings, and we should do the same.

I accompanied a delegation of human rights advocates from Turkey to Leinster House last week. While they were here, they learned that another of their colleagues had been arrested. I sit on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe where I have seen colleagues discussing the arrest of fellow party members and parliamentarians. Judges, too, are being arrested. In fact, the Council of Europe awarded its highest honour, the Václav Havel award, to a judge who was arrested. The case of Idil Eser, director of Amnesty International in Turkey, has been much highlighted. He is one of the 11 on trial today, along with others from the Turkish Women's Coalition, the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly and the Turkish Human Rights Association. I note that the EU has withheld €80 million in funding from Turkey in view of concerns regarding human rights issues. How, then, can it justify the immigration control agreements signed with Turkey, let alone the similar agreements with Libya, Sudan and others? Civil society is under threat on a global scale, as we saw with the attack in Malta, the arrest of civil society leaders in Catalonia and the clampdown on protest in Poland and Hungary. I urge my fellow parliamentarians to take this issue very seriously.