Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I thank Senator Martin for drafting this Bill down and asking me to cosign it. Unfortunately, technology, I believe, got in the way of that happening. However, I am happy to speak in support of the Bill. That this is the second time Senator Martin has brought a Bill of this nature before the House. Obviously, and as other Members have said, indications are that domestic violence is on the rise. In 2022 there was an 8% increase in domestic abuse incidents. As has been said already almost 54,000 incidents were attended by gardaí last year compared with approximately 50,000 in the previous year and 44,500 in the year prior to that. Unfortunately, as has been said, many of the services are being overwhelmed. That has been the case for some time. In 2020, for example, Safe Ireland reported that it could not meet 808 requests for refuge due to a lack of available spaces. Men's Aid missed 630 calls to its helpline in 2021 due to resource constraints. Women's Aid's annual report for 2022 showed an increase in contacts for their support of 16% on the previous year and the highest in its almost 50-year history. These figures are obviously very stark, which the Minister has acknowledged. That makes the changes that Senator Martin is seeking in this Bill all the more important.

As I have done on previous occasions, I pay tribute to Teach Termainn in my own area and pay tribute for the vital work it does on domestic violence in my county of Kildare. Alongside emotional and information supports it offers refuge to women who are escaping horrific and traumatising situations in their own homes. The work it does is really commendable. Unfortunately, the services it provides are crucial for the people I deal with. I have had reason to ring Teach Termainn on more than one occasion. We need more organisations like Teach Termainn and we need to support them.

As I said the last time I spoke on this matter in the house, the Labour Party has long called for an increase in the number of women's refuges across Ireland. Recent media reports on domestic violence indicate that there are still nine counties that do not have women's refuges. That is completely unacceptable. Essentially, there is a postcode lottery in terms of access to necessary supports for victims of domestic abuse. When the figures are released each month, we are all devastated to see the number of people who are homeless. We know from numerous studies that domestic violence is one of the leading causes, if not the leading cause, of homelessness among women and children. This is a matter that needs to be addresses. Women's refuges offer an incredible support to victims, and often their children, but there is simply not enough capacity. At the very least, we need one in every county. Ideally, we should have a lot more. From the figures that have been quoted tonight, since 1996, 87% of the women violently killed in Ireland knew their killers, according to data form Women's Aid. More than half of them were killed by a current or former partner. That is a really important fact for us all to reflect. We cannot just reflect on it; we need to act on it, as Senator Martin has done in bringing forward this Bill.

Having read the briefing note supplied by Senator Martin along with his request to cosign the Bill, I was taken by the last couple of lines in particular. It states that the failure to afford victims of serious breaches of the domestic violence orders the same protection afforded to victims of other serious crimes is in breach of both the spirit and specific sections of the Istanbul Convention. It further stated that it fails the victims of domestic violence and their children who may have suffered further abuse, fear, violence and worse.

We in the Labour Party support the Bill. We wish Senator Martin the very best with steering it through the House. We look forward to working with the Minister for Justice on the Bill.