Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. The context and background for today's debate is clear. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Murphy family in Tullamore. We grieve the outrageous attack on and murder of their beloved Ashling. We double down and commit to doubling down on our determination as politicians and members of Irish society to do everything in our power to tackle and overcome anything that contributes to such violence.

It goes without saying that concern about violence against women, about attitudes towards women in our society and about any issue regarding the socialisation of boys and men that might contribute towards violence against women must always be high on our agenda in the Oireachtas. Violence against women is a problem that must be overcome. I acknowledge the personal testimonies that have been expressed here today. I express my own sympathy and sorrow that any colleagues of mine, or anybody at all, should have to endure such a thing. I had the strange experience of being conned out of money last night and had the very good fortune of actually meeting the con man today. I had a satisfactory encounter, shall we say, but the thought occurred to me as I came to the Chamber this evening how little I have to worry about in that my encounter with crime was not one that involved fear. It was one that involved getting back into the driving seat and being able to overcome the annoyance I felt at being conned.

I called for a debate on violence in our society more generally in recent weeks. I did so because issues are surfacing in our society that go beyond the issue of violence against women, as important and troubling as that is whenever it occurs, which is all too frequently. It touches on questions that, if we confine ourselves to discussing violence against women exclusively, we might fail to detect and discuss. That would be to the detriment of our struggle against violence against women and other forms of violence in our society. I am also conscious that we are putting ourselves at a remove, in a sense, from what occurred in Tullamore when we talk about causes and effects. A process is now under way and nothing we want to say should cast any light or shadow of any kind on what must take place there.

I am not praising or criticising anything that has been said by others. I just want to make a few general points. I will not have time to make them all and I apologise if some of what I am saying will sound very theoretical. I sat down to get my thoughts together on this and to write them out. Whenever a major event occurs that causes significant emotional upheaval, it is natural for people to want to comment and for people with particular points of view to seek to draw a link between what has occurred and the point of view they want to advance. There is often a grain of truth, or even substantial truth, in their perspective, but we must always remember that the problem with focusing on grains of truth, or only on some of the grains of truth, is that we might end up with a distorted perspective on reality.

For example, if there is evidence of racist attitudes in the workplace, or even among children in a schoolroom, how causative is that of an act of violence in a given situation, where the perpetrator and the victim of crime are of different racial backgrounds? We know that we cannot eliminate some differences and it would be wrong to try. We also know that we should try to promote respect for people who are different from us. However, if a crime occurs where such a difference between people exists, let us say in the hypothetical situation of racial difference, does that indicate that we have not succeeded in tackling, or even tried hard enough to tackle or succeeded enough in promoting, the issue of the respect we all believe in?While we want to make linkages, we always need to be careful. The causes are not always clear cut. I would contend, for example, that it was wrong to say that single-sex schools are a causative factor of violence against women or even that they are at some level of a pyramid at the apex of which are acts of violence towards women. That does not help. That is why, even while we engage with the personal difficulties of all of this and the horror of it, we need also to look at what precisely is being said, what fits the jigsaw and what does not.

When we focus on the subset of a problem, let us not endanger solidarity in society. Say, for example, there is a heavy focus on bullying around sexual identity or other issues. Does that subtract from the focus we need to have on bullying based on disability, physical characteristics, religious difference or whatever? It goes without saying that where there is systemic bullying of a particular kind, there may be a need to address that pretext but often a pretext is only a pretext and the real problems have to do with bullies' attitudes to themselves, to other people and to violence as a means of masking insecurity - all sorts of things that apply regardless.

There is a broader set of questions that we need to think about. Does the prevalence of pornography and violence in the media and online cause depravity? Are there issues about mental health and those suffering from mental health? We rightly promote the approach of community-based care, but are there people who should be in institutions? I say that as a person who lost a dear friend who was murdered by a person who should not have been at large in society. Are there issues about our integration of minorities in society? I say that as somebody who is, and always has been and will continue to be, strongly supportive of generous immigration policies. Is there a problem of excessive drinking, the importation and widespread consumption of illegal drugs and attitudes towards this? Is that leading to violence? Is there a loss of the sense of meaning and purpose in life connected with a decline of religious faith contributing to a growing individualism, to the decline of a sense of moral obligation to be gentle, respectful and inclusive towards others and to a culture of recklessness and a venting of resentment, all of which involve a disregard for law and morality? Does the loss of a sense of distinct abilities and roles of men and women in our society and a loss of respect for the sanctity of life in some of our laws contribute to the problem?

The personal testimonies of injury and violence suffered heard here again today, as I have said, deserve our sympathy and support and - I say in the same breathe - it is vital that we include all members of the community in the discussion about how we get to a better place. I will not fault those who hashtag "not all men". They are entitled to express that truth into the discussion. They are not trying to cover up for evil doers. It is vital that we ask not only some of the questions but all of the questions about why violence towards women and other forms of violence happens in society and it is vital that we do not end up cocooned here in Parliament somehow separated from the broader discussion that is going on in society about why some of these things are happening.