Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Senator O'Loughlin referring to gender-based violence in her contribution. It is an important issue that we as a House should be addressing. We have issues in Ireland in relation to how we respond to gender-based violence. Across December and January, eight women on the island of Ireland were killed: Malika Noor Al Katib, Vanessa O'Callaghan, Searon Naughton, Karen Cummings, Mirjana Pap, Paula Canty, Annie Heyneman and Gillian Curran. Six of these women were killed by people they knew. I would, therefore, welcome a debate with the Minister for Justice about how we respond to gender-based violence, as well as with the Minister for housing concerning how we make provisions for those people trying to flee domestic violence situations. Our refuges are full. They are short-term places where people go fleeing circumstances. Then, the people fleeing those situations - women or men - have nowhere to go after the fact. I would welcome a debate with the Minister for housing on special provisions for gender-based violence survivors.