Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I warmly welcome the Minister. As she will be aware, one of the many repercussions of the lockdown policies has been the dramatic increase in the incidence of domestic violence, with vulnerable women and children bearing the brunt of it. In light of this, I will put a few issues and questions to the Minister for her consideration.

I have heard reports that the family law system further endangers women and children experiencing domestic violence. Abusive parents can be granted unsupervised access to children. Victims' concerns about child abuse are minimised. Custody arrangements that escalate domestic violence can be ordered by the courts.

Are there any responses from the family justice oversight group with regard to regulation and the establishment of the database of court-appointed child welfare assessors? I understand that these assessors are unregulated currently, and that the Courts Service of Ireland does not maintain any database of them. Simultaneously, the involvement in proceedings of the criminal courts or the family law courts in the child protection system are not unusual in families affected by domestic, sexual and gender based violence services, DSGBV. This can lead to considerable difficulties. A mother, for example, may be required by Tusla to leave an abusive partner to protect her children, while in family law proceedings the parental rights of the abusive partner may supersede the child's right to safety, sometimes giving rise to unsupervised access to abusive partners. This re-traumatises the affected child or the abused mother and places them in direct conflict with welfare conditions arising from involvement with Tusla. A conviction for violent abuse of the victimised parent, frequently the mother, may be deemed irrelevant in a custody or access case because the offence was not against the child.

Can a fit-for-purpose and joined-up legal and welfare mechanism ensure that these matters are fully considered in terms of the emotional abuse element with regard to the child's welfare? Has An Garda Síochána started training officers in domestic violence refuge services to facilitate and encourage victims to report crimes? What are the statistics on the breaching of domestic court orders under the Domestic Violence Act 2018? How are repeat offenders being dealt with? How many DSGBV prosecutions have there been since the pandemic began in March 2020? How does this compare with other years?Can the Minister update the House on the legislative proposal for domestic violence leave, which aims to give workers who experience domestic violence the stability they need to leave a violent relationship or to ensure the victims or their families are safe? Professionals who provide the vital supports and services needed by women and children in their communities must be adequately resourced. They are very much front-line workers.

The third DSGBV is due at the end of 2021. Do we have the luxury of waiting until then for these findings, knowing that this problem is escalating, under-resourced and under-reported? Can preliminary findings be published? An audit of accommodation by Tusla is due at the end of April. Why is it taking so long? We know escalating violence is emerging. It is clear we do not have enough refuge places. Hundreds of women and children in dire need are being turned away. What other accommodation measures are being put in place for fleeing victims? Is a multi-annual funding model being developed at departmental level to ensure and enable proper planning and development of DSGBV services?

A new feature of DSGBV has emerged during the pandemic, namely, the deliberate breaching of Covid public health advice and restrictions. This places children and adults, particularly those with underlying medical conditions and disabilities, in danger. These offences are difficult to prove to a criminal threshold and it is equally difficult for victims to protect themselves or their children from them. How are those allegations and complaints being dealt with? Finally, I repeat the call for more funding for services for victims and for an increase in the number of refuge places. What is the Government's response?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising such an important issue. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has highlighted this as an issue, although it existed long before now. I have said many times that while we have been asked to stay at home and home is a sanctuary for us, it is anything but that for others. It has placed additional pressure on individuals and, in particular, victims of domestic sexual violence.

This is a priority for me. Covid-19 has created unprecedented challenges, particularly for those experiencing domestic abuse and the front-line organisations that provide the support and services. At the outset, my Department developed an inter-agency plan to address and prioritise tackling domestic abuse during the pandemic. It is now leading efforts to try to identify lessons that can be learned. While the work is ongoing, we are trying to ensure we can learn lessons from everything we are doing. Domestic abuse cases continue to be prioritised by the Garda, the Courts Service and the Legal Aid Board. The courts continue to deal with applications to renew domestic violence orders that are due to expire and to put in place arrangements to deal with matters remotely. Under Operation Faoiseamh in the Garda Síochána, gardaí are working to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported and protected at this time. The Senator will be aware of the work being done in County Meath by Garda Stacey Looby and others to highlight domestic violence and to raise funds for vital organisations locally. In this area, I welcome recent convictions for coercive control. This is something we have seen for the first time in the past few months. I hope that as more convictions follow, others will feel confident to come forward and tell their story.

Through the Still Here campaign, my Department is working with front-line service providers, continuing to tell them that services are still available regardless of the level of restrictions and, in particular, that restrictions on movement do not apply to people seeking help as a result of domestic abuse. We will continue to convey that message, and I stress it today. We are also providing Covid-specific funding to organisations working in the area of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to help during this difficult time. That is separate from funding that would normally be provided for these organisations.

How we best provide for the physical and emotional needs of victims into the future is an absolute priority. The Justice Plan 2021, which I launched a few months ago, is a detailed action plan for delivering our five high-level goals. One of these goals is to strengthen community safety, reduce re-offending and support victims and to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. One of the key actions being undertaken is an audit, which the Senator mentioned, of how domestic, sexual and gender-based violence policy and services are organised under the Government. This work, together with the audit of accommodation, is being undertaken by Tusla and work is being done to implement the "Supporting A Victim's Journey" plan. All three of these will provide the analysis that is necessary to ensure we address any gaps in our national approach and to ensure that it is effective and, most importantly, victim-centred. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and I met the auditors last week and we look forward to receiving the report shortly.

I will refer to a few points the Senator mentioned. Under the "Supporting A Victim's Journey" plan, I met the implementation group and the community and voluntary sector last week. The Senator raised a point regarding family courts, namely, that civil and criminal proceedings often take place at the same time when there is no connection between them. We are very conscious of that and would like to address it but it is difficult. For the reasons outlined by the Senator, we need to ensure those two elements of the courts speak to each other and there is engagement between the group implementing the Supporting a Victim's Journey report and the family justice oversight group, which is doing substantial work to try to overhaul the family justice structure.

With regard to An Garda Síochána training, the gardaí involved in the divisional service protective units, all of which have been rolled out, have all received their training. Work is under way to ensure all members of An Garda Síochána receive updated training on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

We are working on a model that would see organisations receive funding on a multiannual basis. This is part of the task of mapping a victim's journey, where we identified what supports are available, how they are being provided, where there are gaps and how we can provide further funding and support for these organisations to increase funding. This will obviously require a commitment of longer than one year, which is why we are looking at multiannual funding. I will come back on this.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister and extend every good wish to her and her husband, Paul. I wish for them a safe and healthy birth of their child.

I thank Dr. Evelyn Parsons in Ballinasloe for highlighting this issue to me. She was instrumental in my decision to raise this matter today.

Local authorities are very much involved in sourcing funds for women who are suffering to move out of dangerous situations in the home. Housing officers in County Meath have looked after a number of families and women who were experiencing domestic abuse by arranging funding to enable them to leave their homes and these dangerous situations. Much more work needs to be done on this matter. I am sure the Minister recognises the crossover between the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It is great that services are still operating but an awful lot more needs to be done, as the Minister recognises. She has not answered my questions about numbers. I will forward them to her Department and perhaps an official will answer them.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Absolutely. While I do not have the exact figures, we know there has been a significant increase in the number of reports of domestic violence and in Garda engagement with victims of domestic violence over the past year. The numbers increased between 2019 and 2020 and have increased even further since the pandemic commenced. I am very conscious of that. The work we are doing to support victims through Covid-19 will continue as long as it is needed. We will ensure lessons that need to be learned from that will be fed into Supporting a Victim's Journey, which is about improving the criminal justice system and encouraging and supporting more people to come forward, and the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. We are doing an audit of the second strategy to ensure we identify what has and has not been implemented and where we need to go next.

The Senator asked about refuges and the audit that is taking place. The audit, which Tusla is due to finalise shortly, will identify exactly where the gaps are in the system and where further support is needed. As the Senator outlined, the Departments of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Health, Education, Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and my Department, as well as many others, have a part to play in this. They are very much engaged and involved.

Mark Wall (Labour)
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I thank Senator Keogan for placing this very important matter on the agenda today. We all wish the Minister the very best in the coming weeks.