Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to you, Acting Chairman, and to all the Members of the Seanad for facilitating this debate. As Senators are aware, there was a similar debate in the Dáil a couple of weeks ago at which I spoke. It is great to see the need to extend the time for this debate because of the degree of interest among Senators. No matter what our political differences may be, I think we all agree that domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a scourge that must be eliminated from society, and that those who have been the victims of this sort of violence deserve our compassion and support.

We had several very powerful contributions from Senators today, reflecting their own engagement with constituents and friends on the issue. I thank them for sharing those stories. It is important to note that the programme for Government called out the fact that we have an epidemic of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in this country. It did not shy away from the reality that has been shied away from for too long. Since taking on this role, I met with many stakeholders and front-line services. I have expressed my own commitment to what we can do in that regard. It has been instructive for me to meet with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and Women's Aid. I have not met with Saoirse yet, but I know the work it does and I am happy to meet with it. Reference was made to men who are victims of violence. Early in the new year I will meet with Men's Aid as well. I am in regular contact with Safe Ireland as a lead organisation and I have a strong relationship with it.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to launch the 2019 report for Sonas. It is another significant NGO in this area, which runs the refuge at the other end of Blanchardstown village where I live. I had a very important conversation with the staff there. We focused on the issues raised by Senator Moynihan about accommodation and housing. I also had an opportunity to sit down with a client for about half and hour and she took me through her journey of the mainly coercive control at home to her decision to leave, to engagement with the emergency services, the front-line services and the courts.It was instructive to be taken slowly through her entire experience with just two of us in the room, and to get an insight into the very real barriers that exist for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence trying to leave their particular circumstances.

As Senators will be aware, Tusla falls within the remit of my Department, and it has a statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic violence. As part of its work, Tusla supports some 60 organisations nationwide and operates a range of services. In 2020, my Department provided €25.3 million to Tusla for services, and an additional €2 million in Covid contingency funds. This year I was delighted to be able to announce a significant increase in that, so in 2021, there will be €28 million in core funding available, which constitutes an increase of €2.7 million, and an additional €2 million in Covid contingency funding will also be available. Therefore, in 2021, €30 million will be provided to support these services, which is an increase of €4.7 million on the original 2020 figure, and that is significant. Looking at what was spent on domestic violence back in 2016, which is only four years ago, we will be doubling that spend in 2021, and that is important.

As regards additional accommodation, two new refuges have been opened this year, one in south Dublin and one in Galway, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage provided the capital funding to support the opening of these refuges, with the day-to-day services being provided by Tusla. Tusla funds a range of specialist counselling services across the country, the 16 rape crisis centres nationwide, and it has expanded its range of services and now provides outreach services for domestic violence victims who may not have a service local to them. Tusla also supports services for children who have also been affected by domestic, sexual and gender-based violence through the provision of childcare supports in refuges across the country and the expansion of therapeutic support programmes. I think particular reference should be made to the Barnahus, Onehouse Galway pilot project which has a child-centred approach, and provides health, medical, therapeutic and policing services for children and young people in cases of suspected sexual abuse. It is a model of good practice that we are supporting. This pilot programme is in operation in Galway at the moment but we are looking to expand the services to Cork and Dublin. The experience learned from the pilot will be used to inform future planning and service design, and a national agency steering group will be established as a priority to move the project forward.

Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a multifaceted problem and many arms of the State are required to work together effectively to address it. Therefore, it is not just an issue for my Department and Tusla; rather, it is a cross-Government and cross-State issue. That is why one of the key points we included in the programme for Government was the need for an audit of how responsibility for policy and services is actually aligned, because as a number of people have mentioned, including Senator Moynihan, there are gaps and there are many bodies trying to complete bits and pieces of the puzzle of work. This is particularly true in respect of housing, which is something that we have discussed with Sonas. There is the issue that while my Department funds the day-to-day running of refuges, the capital comes from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and from local authorities, which requires the local authorities to be "up for it", so to speak, and for the Department of housing to be aligned. There are many players in this area, and without implying that there are bad intentions at play, the multiplicity of players causes difficulties and delays. We are trying to tackle this issue through the audit, so we can determine who does what, and who actually should be doing what. That audit is currently out for tender, and we hope that we are in a position to bring forward the results of the audit and implement them early next year. I am working closely with the Minister for Justice on the project. Likewise, Tusla, which is within my Department, is looking at the review of accommodation at the moment, and that is particularly important, because we are all aware of the lack of accommodation across the country. We must highlight that issue, not on an anecdotal basis, but on the basis of detailed study and a needs analysis being completed countrywide.The result of that Tusla accommodation review will be available in April next year. I will be acting on that, as will other Departments.

All Departments and agencies will play a role in Supporting a Victim's Journey. This is a plan to help victims and vulnerable witnesses in sexual violence cases, which arose from the O'Malley report published earlier this year. This plan is led by the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and the Department of Justice, but it includes commitments from across Government agencies and Departments. One of the commitments that arose is for my Department and Tusla to work with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health to complete a mapping exercise, which is linked into the nature of the spread and the level of services that may be encompassed by the implementation plan. Stakeholders within the sector will be consulted. This process should get under way shortly. I look forward to seeing the outcome of this work across Government. We know that Government is stronger when we are working together to address this particular issue.

As alluded to earlier, this evening in the Dáil we will debate a Private Members' Bill from Sinn Féin on leave entitlement for victims of domestic violence. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this as it is in line with the commitment contained within the programme for Government. I look forward to being able to make announcements on behalf of the Government. We discussed at Cabinet today the steps towards the provision of paid leave for domestic violence survivors. That will be an important step.

I am aware of the publicity in recent weeks regarding reported increases in the incidence of domestic violence during the pandemic. This is coming through all sources including the Garda, the Courts Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the front-line services in the NGO community.

We have discussed here the issues that are part of a continuum of violence where the lives of others are devalued and belittled by their abuser. Whether this is done by emotional, physical or sexual abuse, and whether it is done in person or online, none of it is acceptable. It is important that we continue to learn about the range of offences that take can place and, crucially, their impact. I have engaged with Tusla, the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services, and with representative bodies since I have started in this office, and I will continue to do so.

The Government is committed to doing all it can to tackle the problem of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It affects all of society. We know of the consequences it can have for survivors. We know it is not acceptable anymore. The programme for Government sets out clear actions that are now being taken. Again, it is a matter for all of us working together to end the scourge of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in our society.