Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all colleagues for their contributions. Much has been said tonight so I will try to be concise in my response. I thank many of my colleagues for sharing their experiences. We are not talking about something that is happening to other people. This is something we all go through and it is important to allow people to share their experience, so I thank colleagues for that. I also thank them for their views on what we can collectively do next to try to deal with this issue and awful events like the murder of Ashling and other women, and the abuse of so many others. We must ensure there is change and that we work together to bring about that change. I have said many times that this is an issue we will look back on in years to come and ask ourselves how we let it go on and how we tolerated this type of violence and abuse for so long. I really believe that. As many have said this evening, no more.

There are two things we have to look at in our approach. Many colleagues have asked what we can do ourselves. It is about each and every one of us taking collective responsibility and asking that question when we see misogyny or sexism, when there is a microaggression, as Deputy Bacik put it, and when we see abuse or even actual violence. What do we do in that situation? Do we turn the other way, excuse ourselves or call it out every time we see it? I will certainly come away from today's debate asking myself how I, as an individual and a citizen, can play my part in making sure this ends, and I am sure everyone else will too.

Second, as legislators we must ensure we come together as a Government and a Dáil, working with our State agencies, Departments, the community and voluntary sector, victims and all our community to make sure the laws we have are robust. As Deputy McGuinness pointed out, these laws must be strong and clear enough that they work as they are supposed to and we must also bring forward new laws and policies to deal with these issues.

As Minister for Justice, I reaffirm my commitment to dealing with this in a number of ways. Many have spoken about the fact that women do not come forward when they are attacked. They do not think they will be listened to or supported and the criminal justice system does not welcome them. The work I am doing on Supporting a Victim's Journey identifies 52 actions, some of which have already been implemented and others that are in train or towards which we are working, to ensure the criminal justice system is victim-focused. That way, when those vulnerable persons come forward and take that difficult step, that support will be there. Most important, from the very outset, members of An Garda Síochána, the health service and others must be educated in working with, supporting and helping these people through their journey.

It is also about making sure we are properly resourced. We have a budget of €2 billion for An Garda Síochána this year and will have additional recruits. Some 120 gardaí came out of Templemore this week and we are on track, thankfully, to have another 800 this year. We need to make sure they have the resources to do their jobs and work within our communities. We need them on the ground but they also need technology and strong laws to be able to carry out their work.

As was mentioned, we must make sure our family justice system works. Often, a criminal trial will happen at the same time as a civil trial around access to children and those involved do not discuss the cases or connect with each other. We need to make sure that is addressed and the family structure in the courts is changed. We are working on that with a new Bill but we also need to provide the ancillary supports that are so often needed to support vulnerable persons. We need to ensure the resources and supports are there and make sure every person who needs access to a refuge can get it and that it is available to them. I again commit, as will the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, to making sure every woman who needs a space will get one. We are working on a new structure to deliver that as soon as possible and properly resource it.

Bringing all of this together is our new national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It is not the first strategy but builds on the previous two. I acknowledged that a lot of work has been done in previous years by previous Ministers and Dáileanna, as well as community and voluntary sector organisations and individuals who have driven this. We need to build on that work and make sure it is the best and most ambitious plan we have had to date. That means making sure it has clear timelines and actions, that we know exactly who is to carry out those actions and that it is properly resourced. I commit that when we publish this strategy, all those things will be set out very clearly. There must also be clear oversight from the Department of the Taoiseach, the Dáil, the Seanad, the Joint Committee on Justice and other committees, in order to make sure we carry out our role.

As I have said, it is not just about the justice sector. It is about so many other elements of our society. It is about education in our schools, including primary school, secondary school, third level institutions and further education.

This issue also applies to our homes. I think of my almost nine-month-old son. Like most people, I think about what he will look like when he gets older, what work he will do, whether he will have a girlfriend or boyfriend and whether he will get married or have children. In the last week I have promised myself that, no matter what or who he is, he will respect women, call out these types of inequalities and stand up when he sees this type of behaviour in the future. We all have to do that.

We also need national campaigns in order that these conversations are constantly on the airwaves, in our newspapers, on social media channels and elsewhere. It is about making sure that everything we do is backed up by evidence and real lived experiences. We need to gather that information and make sure it improves our laws and policies, as well as the experience for victims and survivors. Many Deputies mentioned the SAVI report and the upcoming sexual violence survey, SVS. I reassure the House that there is no delay with that. It is not that it is not being resourced or prioritised. From the outset, it was made clear that it would take time, and five years was the timeframe given back in 2018 when it was started. A lot of detailed and very sensitive information must be gathered. There have been consultations and there must be multiple other consultations to look at how things change over time. When I was in the Department of Health, the longitudinal ageing study carried out by Professor Rose Anne Kenny took ten years. That is obviously a slightly different type of survey but this type of data gathering takes time. I reassure people that the report is on time and will be delivered by next year, as we had set out.

There is a lot of work to do, as we all appreciate. However, it is very clear from all our contributions that we are all on the same page and want to achieve the same thing, that is, zero tolerance of any kind of violence or abuse against women. I look forward to working with colleagues to make sure we can reach that end goal. I again offer my deepest condolences not just to the Murphy family but to all families who are impacted by violence and those who are going through any type of abuse. I acknowledge them. We are thinking of them at all times with everything we do.

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