Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann: commends Natasha O'Brien, Bláthnaid Raleigh, the Women of Honour, women in the Football Association of Ireland, and all of the women whose bravery in speaking out about domestic, sexual and gender-based violence has shone a spotlight on this insidious crime and highlighted the need for radical reform;

notes that:

— domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is an epidemic in our society;

— last month, Women's Aid revealed it had received more than 40,000 disclosures of abuse against women and children in 2023, the highest number in its 50-year history;

— a comprehensive and nationally representative Central Statistics Office Sexual Violence Survey, published in 2023, revealed 40 per cent of respondents experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, 52 per cent of women and 28 per cent of men;

— nearly 80 per cent of those who experienced sexual violence knew the perpetrator, while fewer than half told anyone about it;

— the survey also revealed that rates of reporting to Gardaí are incredibly low with just 5 per cent of adults who experienced sexual violence reporting the crime;

— of those who did not disclose abuse to Gardaí, 60 per cent said it was because they did not think the abuse was serious enough, while one-third did not do so because they felt ashamed or embarrassed;

— in 2021, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre revealed that just 14 per cent of rapes reported to Gardaí actually result in a prosecution;

— in 2022, the Government published the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, and said it was adopting a "zero tolerance" approach; and

— in the Dáil, on 25th June, 2024, An Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD, said "We need to have a zero tolerance strategy embedded in everything we do";

further notes that:

— in June 2024, a member of the Irish Defence Forces walked free from court after he received a suspended sentence for a brutal assault on Natasha O'Brien, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has now appealed the leniency of that sentence;

— after that conviction, the Irish Defence Forces revealed that 68 serving members have been convicted of crimes, or are before the courts charged with criminal offences;

— according to the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin TD, of these 68 "approximately five relate to sexual assault and one is pending", while six cases relate to "domestic incidents or breaches of barring orders";

— on 1st July, 2024, it was revealed that a taxi driver, who was convicted of raping two young women he had picked up in his cab, had separate previous convictions for serious sexual offences;

— in May 2024, Registrar and Chief Officer of the Dental Council of Ireland, Dr David O'Flynn, told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health that gaps in the current regulatory framework for dentists meant an unregistered dentist, operating in this jurisdiction despite having a conviction for sexual assault, could not be sanctioned;

— the Dental Council of Ireland have called on successive governments to update the regulatory framework, advising, in a submission to Government in 2021, that "patient safety cannot be assured and patients have been harmed because of this failure to regulate"; and

— counselling and psychotherapy services in Ireland are completely unregulated, with the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, advising the Dáil in May 2024, that "it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy when the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist will be fully regulated";

expresses concern that:

— too often, it takes women speaking out about their own trauma and experience of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence before State institutions or the Government take any action; and

— the slow pace of reform evident in many areas, including the huge shortage in refuge spaces, endemic problems in our criminal justice system, and a failure to regulate, or adequately regulate, a variety professions, despite the Government's professed "zero tolerance" approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; and

calls on Government to:

— update the Dáil on when sentencing guidelines from the Judicial Council will finally be published;

— clarify when the report of Peter Ward SC, into the administration of cases involving Irish Defence Forces personnel charged or convicted of criminal offences, will be completed and published;

— advise when Irish Defence Forces personnel, who have been convicted of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, will be dismissed;

— review taxi regulations, including the power of An Garda Síochána to revoke or suspend a small public service vehicle driving licence, the operation of those powers, and whether they are sufficient;

— update the Dentists Act, 1985, so that the Dental Council of Ireland will be able to, among other things, sanction unregistered dentists operating in Ireland despite having convictions, including for sexual assault;

— introduce regulations for counselling and psychotherapy services, which many vulnerable people rely on;

— increase refuge spaces, so that Ireland is in line with our obligations under the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the "Istanbul Convention", include the numbers staying in women's refuges in the homeless figures, and increase the provision of secure alternative housing for those in refuges; and

— explain how a failure by Government to review, introduce or update professional regulations, over many years, is evidence of a "zero tolerance" approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

At the outset I acknowledge Natasha O’Brien, who will be in the Gallery today. Natasha and Bláthnaid Raleigh are two incredibly brave women. Their courage in speaking out has been an inspiration to so many. Their demands for justice and reform are not just being heard in this Chamber, they are being heard in hundreds and thousands of homes all over the country, homes in which other girls and women who are living with violence or abuse or have suffered violence and abuse now do not feel so alone. We know they are not alone. In fact, they are in the majority because most women have experienced sexual harassment or violence and every day they are primed for it. They know the cold dread of hearing heavy footsteps speed up behind them when they are walking home alone at night. They know the sense of embarrassment and discomfort when senior male colleagues act inappropriately. They know the anger and humiliation of being aggressively groped in a busy street or pub. They know the feeling of rising panic when they find themselves trapped in a room with a man whose demeanour has suddenly shifted. Most of the women listening to me now will have experienced at least one of those situations. Many of them will have endured them all and others many more. These are countless disquieting and alarming encounters that chip away at women’s safety and sense of security. Sexual violence is an epidemic and always has been.

We had another reminder of that at the weekend, with the shocking story of abuse in the FAI in the 1990s. I take this opportunity to commend those women and their immense courage, too. What they endured when many of them were just teenagers was wrong and profoundly damaging and they suffered through it alone because they thought they were the only ones. That is what abusers do - they isolate, undermine, bully and threaten. They view women as either their property or objects and treat them accordingly, with contempt and cruelty. Victims feel alone but abusers often do not. Some, like Cathal Crotty, will even boast to friends on social media about inflicting an attack. I do not think we will forget his words: “Two to put her down, two to put her out.” Others will gloat about their hatred for women online. They do not even need to go to the dark corners of the Internet to do that any more. They can just go to X, formerly Twitter, where misogyny and hate speech are now part of the branding.

Our society, culture and institutions are steeped in violence against women and we know that changing that will not be easy. Women like Natasha, Bláthnaid, the Women of Honour and the women in the FAI who are speaking out about this issue are doing incredible work to drive change but there is only so much they can do. There are steps when it comes to legislation and regulation that can only be taken by the Government. No one else can do it, so why has it not been done?

Why does a zero-tolerance approach so often seem like a zero-effort approach? Take regulations for counsellors and psychotherapists, for example. We have known for years that this entire sector is a wild west with zero regulations, leaving vulnerable people open to abuse. To add insult to injury, the notes from that unregulated sector can be used against victims in court. The health Minister admitted to the Dáil the other week that he had no idea when regulations would be introduced. Does he care or does he view it as the next Minister’s problem?

Similarly, the Dental Council has been pleading with successive governments for many years to strengthen protections for people. As it stands, a dentist with a conviction for a sexual offence can set up shop and practise and the Dental Council is powerless to stop them. We know this because it has already happened, but still the Government does not act.

The issue of taxi regulation is of huge concern. I think everyone in the country has been repulsed and horrified by the case of Raymond Shorten. Having already been convicted of raping two women in his taxi, we learned this week that he has also faced trial for the rape of a child. This serial predator is now facing sentencing later this month. That is a matter for the courts, but the regulation of taxi driver licences is a matter for this Government. Gardaí regulate taxi driver licences and have the power to revoke licences in certain circumstances. The question I and many other women have is whether those powers are strong enough. We know that a disqualification from holding a licence can arise if drivers are convicted of certain crimes, such as rape and sexual assault, while disqualifications for certain periods can arise on conviction of other offences. Is the list of those offences as comprehensive as it should be? When is the last time they were reviewed? Is it something that is done regularly as new laws are enacted? For instance, is stalking included in the list of offences that merit a full or partial disqualification? I could not find it.

There is another issue with the regulations. They do not include a provision to suspend a licence if a driver is charged with a serious offence. This means it is possible for somebody to be facing serious sexual charges and simultaneously working as a taxi driver picking up women on their own as they are trying to get home. The Taoiseach has said the Government is open to reviewing these regulations. Is this something the Government will do? If so, how long will that review take and when will the Minister publish it? This needs to happen as a matter of urgency.

We hear more about women being told not to walk home at night than we do about men not being told not to rape and assault women who are walking home alone at night. When women are told that if they are alone and attacked they should have been more careful, many women opt to take a taxi even if they are going a short distance. The thought they could be getting a taxi with a sex offender is unthinkable. It is our job to ensure that does not happen.

Regulation of the Defence Forces is also the responsibility of the Government. Cathal Crotty has now been dismissed, but why are other members of the Defence Forces with similar convictions still serving? Why have they not been sacked? Why do we need a senior counsel to review this very obvious disparity? The Defence Forces clearly have the power to dismiss members convicted of violent crimes. Why has it only used it in this instance after enormous public backlash? It has all the hallmarks of an organisation which is already beset by sexual abuse scandals acting reactively in response to public anger. The judge-led review following the Women of Honour report found:

at best, the Defence Forces barely tolerates women and, at its worst, verbally, physically, sexually and psychologically abuses women in its ranks.

The latest damning incident has done little to dispel that characterisation.

There are also other areas in which the Government can and must act. Why are we still waiting for legislation to ban the practice of some landlords demanding sex in lieu of rent? My colleague Deputy Cian O'Callaghan published legislation to ban it more than two years ago. The Government took issue with the Bill but has failed to produce its own.

Another major failure of this Government and previous governments is the failure to provide sufficient refuge spaces. Nine counties are still without a single refuge space and over half of the existing domestic violence refuges are full. Meanwhile, many of them have been operating at 100% capacity for years. We hear over and over again about horrific instances in which women are left with no choice but to stay with or return to abusive partners because the only alternative is homelessness. The Government’s solution, this zero-tolerance strategy, is to double the number of refuge spaces to 280 by 2026 even though the Istanbul Convention, which Ireland finally ratified in 2019, requires us to have 675.

Then the Government calls it zero tolerance. This is what we mean when we refer to zero tolerance as an empty phrase from this Government because I cannot find evidence of it in any sector, society or Government policy. Zero tolerance is not present in our courts system where violent offenders routinely walk free with a slap on the wrist. It is not present in our regulations in the taxi, counselling or dentistry sectors. It certainly is not in place in the Defence Forces. Will the Minister tell me and all the women watching where we can find it? Given that the Government is not opposing our motion, will she Minister tell us if she will implement what we have suggested?

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence should never be tolerated but too often it seems that our institutions are set up to do just that. Women are told to report it and to trust the system, but how can victims be expected to trust a system that so often fails them?

While the Minister has demonstrated a commitment to addressing many of these failings, recent controversies have shown we have a very long way to go. However, this is not only a justice system issue. It is a whole-of-government issue and it needs a whole-of-government response. At the most basic and fundamental level, each Minister must ensure that the professions and sectors under his or her remit are appropriately regulated to protect society.

One sector in which the Social Democrats have repeatedly called for regulation is dentistry. Last September, "RTÉ Investigates" revealed that a person convicted of sexual assault had been practising as a dentist but the Dental Council was unable to act. This person was not registered with the Dental Council and although that is a criminal offence, the council did not have the power to intervene. That is because it cannot enter and inspect premises. We have this ludicrous situation where the Dental Council has received a serious complaint but could do nothing abut it. The Dental Council could only act if this person was registered as a dentist. However, in the case of a dental nurse or a dental hygienist, for example, the council cannot act at all. This is because the Dentists Act 1985 does not provide for an auxiliary dental worker to be struck off the register if convicted of a serious crime. This was highlighted by the Dental Council in its 2021 submission to the Minister. At this stage in the Dáil cycle, the chances of progressing a new, fit-for-purpose dentists Bill are very slim indeed. However, the Minister for Health could progress some interim amendments to address the most serious deficits in dental regulation and he should so urgently. Unfortunately, this is not the only area of health and social care in which a regulatory vacuum exists. When it comes to safeguarding, it is still the case that HSE social workers do not have the right to enter private nursing homes. That means safeguarding teams cannot enter 80% of nursing homes to investigate suspected abuse. That needs to be tackled immediately.

In the area of mental health, counselling and psychotherapy services remain completely unregulated. As it stands, anyone could stick a plaque on their door and call themselves a therapist. In 2018, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, established the Counsellors and Psychotherapist Registration Board with CORU. Yet, five years after the registration board's inaugural meeting in May 2019, the register remains at phase 2 of a four-phase development process. All the while, rogue actors continue to operate as therapists. This was highlighted by a recent "RTÉ Investigates" programme - yet another one - into so-called crisis pregnancy agencies and therapy retreats. At one retreat, women were told that having an abortion would make them vulnerable to domestic violence because they would experience what they unconsciously feel is the punishment they deserve. In the past ten years, 30 of these retreats have been held. More are planned for this year. This cannot continue.

A zero tolerance approach must include regulation of these healthcare professions but that is absent from the Minister's implementation plan. It is not just her Department; the Minister must be cognisant of the lack of regulation right across Departments. That is why the Social Democrats are calling for robust regulation to help prevent abuse in all its forms from happening in the first place.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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The weekend revelations concerning the abuse of young women soccer players represent the lowest point in the history of scandals involving the Football Association of Ireland, FAI. The absence of FAI safeguards to protect women and young female players was simply unforgivable. It exemplified perfectly the power imbalance that lies at the heart of men's abuse of women. It was deeply unsettling to watch the "RTÉ Investigates" programme on Sunday evening as it revealed harrowing details of historic abuse allegations against FAI coaches by young women and by players on a FÁS course dating back to the 1990s. All of the men were in positions of authority and were initially trusted and respected by the players. The latest controversy engulfing the FAI exemplifies the power imbalance that lies at the heart of men's abuse of women. It exposes the culture of misogyny and male entitlement that has pervaded Irish football and other sporting bodies for decades. Monday's apology from the FAI, while appropriate, will not compensate or made amends for the unforgivable absence of safeguards that should have been in place to protect these young women and girls whose dreams of representing their country were shattered by such appalling behaviour.

Specifically, I want to refer to Olivia O'Toole, who, like me, is a former Sheriff YC player. During the 1990s and early 2000s, many of us sat back and wondered why this extraordinary footballer who was beating all of us on the pitch was not involved in the Irish team. It was only afterward that we found out why. It is extraordinary to think that there was a complete absence of guidelines covering the inappropriateness of relationships between adult coaches and women who were still in their teens at the time.

There remains some confusion about the nature of the safeguarding policies in place within the FAI. In recent weeks, the FAI appears to have been scrambling to update its safeguarding policies in response to queries received from the two exceptional journalists involved in exposing this scandal. According to the "RTÉ Investigates" programme on Sunday, there is no FAI policy in place which deals with player and coach relationships, and there never has been. It has been stated that such a policy is now being finalised. However, at Monday's press conference, the FAI said such a policy was in fact in place but that it does not extend to the League of Ireland women's clubs. The position needs to be clarified urgently. The FAI should immediately publish the safeguarding policy. It should clarify when that policy came into being and when it was communicated to members and coaches and explain why it has not been extended to all coaches in the organisation. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that women and girls training with the FAI today are protected and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

Sunday's programme was another reminder that domestic, sexual and gender-based violence have been endemic in Ireland for decades and continue to be so. As I watched the programme, it was continually stated that what happened dated back to the 1990s. I was reminded that the last Magdalen laundry in Ireland only closed on 21 October 1996. On Monday, I started to have conversations about this matter, including with some of the players who knew some of the coaches. One of the questions people in the sporting community are asking is how many more people will come forward now and talk about their experiences of abuse - both sexual and physical - while playing sport in Ireland.

We have spoken about the FA, but Sport Ireland has a huge role to play here on a number of different fronts. Sport, when it is done correctly and when people feel protected and empowered, is the most beautiful of things. When there are egotistical men involved, however, what develops is toxic environment in which some of our most vulnerable people to not feel safe. We have spoken continuously about and will continue to highlight gender-based violence. What is being done in the context of safe places for members of our LGBTQI community as they engage in sport simply has not been anywhere near strong enough. There is work to do when it comes to legislation and the safeguarding policies that goes across clubs and sports. There is also a need for education programmes to tackle the levels of toxic masculinity that exist within what has been previously described as a kind of locker room culture. The only way to penetrate that culture is by us - men - challenging it. There must also be education programmes in this regard and we must break down the false masculinity that has been pushed on young men such that they feel this is what they need in order to thrive in sporting environments.

Without tackling the culture, we are going to relive these horrors consistently, over and over again. There is a job for this House and a major job for sporting bodies in how we combat that.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for tabling the motion. As I stated in response to a Topical Issue on refuge and accommodation earlier, I welcome the fact we are discussing this issue and I welcome the raising of the issues in the motion. When we finished debating our second motion last week, I called on every one of us to make sure we keep this on the agenda and continue to focus on and prioritise addressing the issue of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence because it is an epidemic and we cannot just discuss it when somebody comes forward. I acknowledge the presence of Natasha in the Gallery. We need to make sure this is a continued and sustained effort by each and every one of us. I welcome the motion, which we will not oppose.

The motion focuses on sexual violence and rightly commends Natasha O'Brien, Bláthnaid Raleigh, the Women of Honour and the women in the Football Association in the context of everything we heard over the weekend. I commend the survivors and victims who speak out about their experiences, showing the utmost courage, but also those who feel they cannot and are not in a position to do so. I think everybody in this Chamber speaks for all of them. Each one of them reminds us that although we have made some improvements, whether in our structures, services, legislation, some of which we will pass only this evening in the House, or the increase in funding we have managed to achieve over recent years, there is so much more work we need to do, which I think we all accept and know.

The Deputies talked about changing institutions and cultures. This will not happen over the lifetime of one strategy or, indeed, one Government. It needs consistent and sustained focus. Deputy Cairns said last week, although I think she was making the point generally, that as a society we say never again when something happens. I wish we were in that position now to say never again but I do not think we are anywhere near that. One of the issues that frustrate me most is that we will have this conversation today and we are all absolutely committed to making progress but we know there are women who will suffer at the hands of men today. We know there are women, children and men – people - who will be victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence today, tomorrow and the next day. All we can do is commit to making the changes we can make to try to shift our institutions, shift that culture and achieve zero tolerance. It is about us not tolerating what we have tolerated previously, and that takes a great deal of effort and time. I am absolutely committed to it, as, I think, everybody in this House is.

The statistics are stark and we are getting to see a much clearer picture of what is happening and has always been happening, whether through the Central Statistics Office, CSO, survey published last year, the work that has been done by so many of the organisations over recent years, or the work of the Garda, which published a report last year highlighting information we probably knew but in clear facts outlining what it is engaging with, whereby so many victims of domestic violence are also victims of sexual violence. We need to look at this so very complex picture in the round, but it is important we have this information and use these facts because behind every fact is an individual, a person, and this helps us to improve our structures, our services, the supports that need to be there and our legislation, and to make sure that, insofar as possible, we will get it right.

The third national strategy is a whole-of-government response, and it is not just about justice. This has to be everybody playing their part. It is about realising that gender-based violence and abuse, and the attitudes and the assumptions that underpin so much of it, have inflicted misery on too many people for far too long, but it is about much more than that. It is about people feeling safe and supported, whether in their homes, their community, as they walk down the street, online, when they are socialising or when they are travelling, and just feeling safe to be themselves without fear or harassment. In particular, it is about them feeling safe to report their experiences, knowing they will be treated with respect and with the support and protection they need. It is about support to report crimes whereby, when victims come forward, they will have that refuge and accommodation and be supported through the criminal justice system. Again, I know there is a good deal of work we need to do in that regard, but work is progressing and we are starting to see signs of change.

Supporting a victim's journey focuses specifically on protecting and supporting the victims of sexual violence and vulnerable witnesses in trials. Some of those actions have been implemented, while others are online and still need more work to be done. To highlight the provision of protective services units, these are units within An Garda Síochána specifically dedicated to supporting the victims of sexual violence, be that past or present. It is so important we continue to expand on those units because it is difficult work and we know that even if we multiplied by ten the number of gardaí working in those units, it would still probably not be enough, but we need to continue to build on that and make sure they have the supports, resources and training they need. So many of the actions in the zero-tolerance strategy relate to providing that training and upskilling, be it in our Garda College, the divisional protective services units or generally in the Garda because, of course, one of these units might not be the first place a person would walk into. It might be their local Garda station down the road or the garda with whom they are used to engaging.

Work is under way under the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. Since 2021, when a file is sent forward to the DPP, it is dealt with by staff from a dedicated sexual offence unit, who are very familiar with the issue and are trained to look at it with a certain focus. It is really important to build on that in order that every element of the justice system will have that particular view and that it will be victim centred, victim focused, trauma informed and supported, and that the teams working there will be supported as well.

There has been investment in supports at court as well. One of the first meetings I had as Minister, which I recall because it was on Zoom, was with victims supports at court, where they said clearly that they needed additional funding and support to expand their services throughout the country, given they were available only in certain areas. I am really pleased that in the coming weeks, I will open some of those new services in the south because we have worked with them. It has taken time, which is the most frustrating aspect in all of this, but we are getting there.

Turning to some of the other issues the Deputies raised, while other Departments are involved here, I am absolutely confident my colleagues and all of the Government are committed to making progress in other areas. In respect of defence, the Tánaiste has reiterated the pride we all have in the vast majority of the men and women of the Defence Forces, who serve the nation so admirably. The actions of a minority completely go against the values of the Defence Forces and have no place in a modern workforce. This is especially true in an organisation that is there to protect all of us, and we have all been very clear about that. The Tánaiste has requested a report from the Chief of Staff to establish how many serving members of the Defence Forces have civil convictions or are before the civil courts on serious criminal offences. As an immediate measure, he has issued an instruction for service personnel who have been convicted of rape or sexual assault and are awaiting discharge, or who are before the courts on such charges, to be immediately placed on local leave. This measure is already captured in the Defence Forces regulations and the Tánaiste has been absolutely clear that this must now be applied uniformly in all such cases throughout the organisation. He has appointed, as the Deputies mentioned, Mr. Peter Ward to undertake a high-level analysis of the application of military law in circumstances where personnel have been convicted of serious offences in the civil courts. Along with this analysis, Mr. Ward will make recommendations on what, if any, enhanced powers may be necessary to improve the process, regulations, legislation and reporting arrangements.

The work relating to the Women of Honour is progressing. I know that Deputies have issues with the miscellaneous Bill, which is being progressed this evening. There are important elements in that Bill, not least for the Women of Honour, to make sure we can appoint that additional judge to progress that work. There are different strands on which all of us are working with one another to try to make sure that structural change within the Defence Forces can happen as soon as possible. I ask colleagues for their support in passing that Bill later.

In respect of counsellors or psychotherapists and dentists, the Minister is working with the representative groups of both of those areas to try to make sure we can put in place the right structures and the oversight mechanisms in order that there will be clear oversight of those who are working with, in particular, vulnerable people. I acknowledge this is separate to it, but even in the strategy itself there are quite a number of recommendations that focus on making sure there are trauma-informed training modules and delivery relating to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, not just for those in this sector but for everyone who engages with vulnerable victims. The work on counselling notes, too, is a clear action in the zero-tolerance strategy and I expect work being done by the Department of Health, the DPP, the Garda, my Department and others to be presented to me in the third quarter of this year because this issue, in particular, has been raised by many victims of sexual violence.

In regard to vetting, while I will not get into the details of cases, I want to clarify something about one case where there has been some confusion. It is not the case that the man in question had been convicted of a sexual offence and continued to drive a taxi. He was first convicted of a sexual offence in May of this year, at which time he had been in prison for almost two years and his taxi licence had been revoked while the investigation into the allegations against him was under way.

I say this to reassure the public that there is a system and structure in place. Separate to that, in terms of vetting, a review has been underway for some time through my Department. I will have the conclusions of that review in the next two weeks and it will look at a number of different things including if people need multiple vetting if they are working with multiple organisations. It will also look at ways in which we can have vetting on a regular basis. I have asked for a particular focus on taxis. If I need to do more work, not just through that review working with the regulators on taxi services but with any other type of service where people engage with those on their own, that will absolutely be part of the review and recommendations.

I turn to refuge development. I had a Topical Issue earlier. There are 18 projects underway that will allow us to double the number of refuges and accommodation in the lifetime of this strategy. That is not the endpoint, but we need to get the structures, so it is not just bricks and mortar, but the services surrounding it. We are making good progress, most importantly, working with the sector in that regard.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Before I call Deputy Catherine Murphy, I acknowledge the presence of Natasha O'Brien in the Visitors Gallery. Tá fáilte romhat.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The State has a central responsibility to put systems in place to protect its citizens as much as possible. In this House, we pass criminal justice legislation and rely on the criminal justice system to do its work. There has been a concern about the consistency of sentencing and the Judicial Council Act was passed in 2019. One of its stated aims is public confidence in the Judiciary and the administration of justice. The fully suspended sentence given to Cathal Crotty for his violent attack on Natasha O'Brien shocked the country, and we know the leniency of the sentence has been appealed by the DPP. This is an example of public confidence in the Judiciary and the administration of justice being undermined. This case brings into sharp focus the need to train judges for consistency of sentence and for addressing bias and unconscious bias. Natasha O'Brien, who I welcome today, was beaten unconscious for daring to challenge her attacker for his homophobic abuse of a passerby. Her attacker bragged about the attack on social media and only pleaded guilty when it was obvious that the evidence was irrefutable. The idea that in 2024 a woman's safety is in some way subsidiary to a man's career is incredible, as is the fact that her career, which was impacted, in addition to her physical injuries, was not on a par with his career. We know about the circumstances of this case. How many others, as the Minister asked, have gone unnoticed?

The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence has asked a senior counsel to review the situation. However, we know that 68 serving members have been convicted of crimes, with five relating to sexual assault and one pending. It should not and cannot be the case that a conviction has to come to public attention such as the one with Cathal Crotty, for them to be excluded from the Defence Forces. I do not think we need a senior counsel to tell us that. If a member of the Defence Forces has been convicted of a similar attack, it is self-evident they should not be serving in the Defence Forces. Any legislative changes will take time, but there is an urgency to deal with this issue in everyone's interests. The Judicial Council is a relatively new body and I have no doubt it has a backlog to work through, but if we are to have consistency of sentencing the resources have to match the task. I spoke to members of the Defence Forces following the controversy. They were horrified and demoralised that someone with such a conviction would continue his career in the Army. Many feel the uniform was sullied and thought that should have formed part of the consideration when sentencing was being considered. It appears the Defence Forces were powerless to do what they wanted to do until the member was convicted. That has to change.

Bláthnaid Raleigh was one of just 5% of adults who reported sexual violence. I listened to one of her interviews and she was encouraged to do so by a woman and man who found her in a distressed state. While it is not possible to undo the damage, the resulting conviction of the rapist, and naming him in particular, brought her some sense of justice. The fact that her rapist could lead a normal life while she put hers on hold until the conviction is not isolated. However, it required her to waive her anonymity. The fact that the convicted rapist has the benefit of being anonymous is a real issue. I am not suggesting for a minute that a survivor should suffer further, but there is an issue here that would benefit from consideration of how other jurisdictions do this. Naming an individual is a real sanction and it happens in other criminal cases. How we do that without negatively impacting the victim or stopping others from reporting rape is something that seriously needs to be considered. She is an articulate woman and I applaud her for her courage in speaking out. Many more do not feel able to. The fact that almost 80% of those who experience sexual violence know their abuser makes it even more difficult. They are people living in the same town or village or living under the same roof. Going public and naming an offender can be difficult in that environment. I know situations where families have discouraged such disclosures and even discouraged the reporting of rape. In 2021 the Rape Crisis Centre revealed that just 14% of rapes reported to An Garda resulted in a prosecution. If 100 rapes are reported, that represents 5% of rapes committed. That means less than one in 1,000 results in a prosecution. If consequences change behaviour, we have to ask where the deterrent is. Some of that falls within the criminal justice area, but some falls within society.

The convicted rapist, Raymond Shorten, was found guilty of raping two women passengers on different dates. He also faces trial for raping a seven-year-old child. He has been in custody and is due to be sentenced in the coming weeks. It is not clear when he was charged with the rape of the child. However, if that preceded the rape of the two passengers in question, it must be asked if that could have been prevented. I am not sure about that, and I would welcome the Minister's clarification. We need to review the Taxi Regulation Act and make it mandatory for those holding a licence to disclose if they have been charged with a specific offence, that on conviction would exclude them from holding a taxi licence. We know it can take years for cases to come before the courts. While any individual charged is innocent until proven guilty, there is also a need to err on the side of caution when it comes to public safety. The Taxi Regulation Act 2013 provides for the revoking or suspension of a taxi licence. That is, for example, in cases where someone has been convicted of an offence.

I am also reminded of another case in 2021 that was struck out. It was a different range of things. A taxi driver alleged an old-aged pensioner had left him a house in his will. The will was a standard form that could be purchased in any stationery shop and was witnessed by another taxi driver. The case went on for a number of years, and the cost involved practically wiped out the benefits to those listed in the will made earlier with a solicitor involved. It proved almost impossible for the legal team representing the beneficiaries in this case - if you can call them that - to make a complaint to the taxi regulator. While in theory it is in legislation, in practice making a serious complaint into the fitness of a taxi driver to hold a licence proved not to be easy in that case. That has to be looked at. It is not in the interests of the majority who drive taxis, act honourably and get fares to their destination safely that there is a gap here. Taxi drivers are Garda vetted. However, the licence is awarded for a period of five years.

Is there an obligation within that timeframe to bring to the attention of the taxi regulator issues of serious charges, such as those faced by Raymond Shorten? Does a taxi driver who is charged have an obligation in this regard? This must be examined fully and it is essential that both the Minister for Justice and the taxi regulator urgently review it. The Minister has already told us she is doing that, which I welcome.

I want to move on to domestic violence, which, as we know, has reached epidemic proportions. Refuge spaces are critical. I do not need to tell the Minister that because we have talked about this on numerous occasions. The lack of resources provided for alternative accommodation is of major concern. Women fleeing with children very often consider their children's schools and friends and are very often in an uncertain situation. Very often, they do not have any money and may not even have a bank account. Like others, I deal with situations where people feel they have been presented with genuine challenges. Indeed, I am dealing with a few at the moment. Often, we find that women have lost confidence because of abuse and are really at rock bottom and need the State to wrap itself around them at that stage.

I might talk to the Minister separately about a couple of issues that I wanted to address; however, since my time is up, I will leave it at that.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I commend the Social Democrats on this motion. We debated a similar one by the Labour Party last week, and we also had statements last week on this issue. We have probably had statements and motions on this issue in every year of this Government's term. Everybody makes relevant points but things are not happening quick enough and change is not coming. The number of reports of domestic violence, assault and rape we hear about constantly on the news is scary. How often do we hear a news story about a woman's body found in a house somewhere or a report on a court case about a rape or sexual abuse, especially of children, with a warning given that the content will be disturbing? We have to recognise we hear only about the most severe cases, which may involve the death of a woman or actual court cases. Most cases do not even make it to court. In most cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim or survivor, and in most cases the victim is a woman.

The most concerning thing about this is the lack of data. We do not have any clarity on whether the greater demand for front-line services is the result of more violence or more reporting and disclosures. Women's Aid had over 40,000 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and children last year, and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had over 18,000 contacts regarding rape and sexual abuse. People need support. We do not know how many of these cases go to the Garda and how many actually make it to court. However, the victims need support. The number of refuge spaces in this country is at an all-time low. Nine counties are still without a refuge, and two of these, Cavan and Monaghan, are counties I represent. Even where there are refuges, they need investment. There has been ten years of no investment. The providers need to expand and update their services.

Also of concern are the pay and conditions of workers in the sector. The workers were section 56 workers but they have now moved to Cuan. The first pay increase they got since 2008 was last December. If these professionals are not paid properly, they cannot stay in their jobs. They face cost-of-living pressures like the rest of us. We need workers with the appropriate qualifications, empathy and the right attitude, and they have to be paid properly. I am aware that Safe Ireland is doing work on this, and this has to be something that will be implemented.

On the legal system, the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 has still not been commenced to allow much-needed civil orders against stalking. It needs to be commenced as soon as possible. I stated last week that the victim in a rape trial must give evidence but the accused does not have to. He has a choice. That is totally wrong.

I welcome the Minister's statement that she is working on changing the legislation on the use of counselling notes. It has been changed in Britain and I know the Taoiseach made a commitment to change it here. It needs to happen as soon as possible. The practice was totally wrong from the start. It is absolutely outrageous that it happened at any stage, but I would welcome change in this regard as quickly as possible.

Women still have limited access to legal assistance. Very few solicitors operate within the civil legal aid system. I frequently come across cases where women leave their home, often fleeing with children and perhaps to live with a family member, because they are afraid of their partners. The partner may be working and have access to finance and can employ a solicitor. His partner will have very few options and will be at a disadvantage again in court.

The non-payment of maintenance is being used as a form of abuse against partners. I was talking to a woman yesterday whose former partner, her former husband, is working and can employ a good solicitor but does not pay her maintenance. She brings him to court and he pays once or twice, then stops paying again. That has to be addressed. If somebody is found guilty of not paying maintenance once, there should consequences; one should not have to go back to court repeatedly.

Some have referred to the regulation of certain professions. I absolutely agree. If psychologists are not regulated, it needs to happen. A comment was made yesterday to the effect that somebody who is driving a bus needs to be vetted. I came across a quite disturbing case in this regard. If you drive a bus for a private operator, you do not need to be vetted. I am aware of someone who drives a bus bringing children from place to place. Parents assume he is vetted but he is not, although there are concerns about some of his past conduct in relation to children.

I commend the Minister on working closely with services and advocates to deliver the most comprehensive strategy we have had to date and the accompanying implementation plan for the first time, but this needs to be funded. Otherwise, it just becomes another document on the shelf gathering dust.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I commend the Deputies on moving this motion this morning. Indeed, it is a mirror of motions we have discussed here many times. As the Minister will know, we discuss motions with similar wording year after year. This entails the same plea from the Opposition falling, it would appear, on the Government's deaf ears. There is very little evidence of a zero-tolerance approach. We can all hope that will come but evidence of progress is very hard to find. There are definitely plenty of announcements and superficial measures, there are kind words and there may be brochures, but funding will be key, as my colleague an Teachta Tully has alluded to. There is nothing that indicates you are a priority like funding.

I want to raise a case with the Minister because it has come to my attention in my office in Balbriggan, but we are also dealing with similar cases in my Swords office. The matter has to do with people on the housing list. Victims of domestic abuse are being revictimised by the housing crisis created by the Government. I want to talk to the Minister about Lana. This is not her real name, which I would not use out of respect for her. Lana has been on the Dublin City Council housing list for almost 13 years. She was brutally and viciously assaulted by her husband, who served time in prison. She moved to north County Dublin because of the housing crisis. It was the only place that she could find somewhere to live, although it was miles from her supports. Her attacker, her abuser, is now out of prison and he lives in a town close to where she would be housed. The Minister can imagine that the woman is almost terrified that she will be offered a house because the house she will be offered will be in the Dublin City Council area. She now lives in the Fingal County Council area. I asked a parliamentary question on this and the housing Department advised that the local authorities could apply discretion, but I ask that the Minister give the local authorities concerned some direction. I appreciate that they can apply discretion but when everything is so tight, special consideration needs to be given to people who are in a certain location because of domestic abuse.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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We are here again discussing this motion, for which I thank the Social Democrats, but I wonder how many more motions we will need. I do not see the type of progress needed. In this regard, we should bear in mind Natasha O'Brien, Bláthnaid Raleigh and the women of Women of Honour. Like so many others, I watched in absolute horror the footage concerning the women of the FAI, who are absolutely haunted by what happened to them.

The question that came into my mind was why it happened and why did nobody say "stop" or call it out. I wondered how many other organisations are out there where those type of behaviours and crimes are tolerated.

There is the 24-hour rape crisis line. Often women feel they do not fit into a particular category. I wonder whether it is time for an overall national helpline, and a campaign around it, where people can be reassured that they will be heard and supported practically and emotionally in order to be able to come forward and tell their stories. We not only have an epidemic; we have a legacy of what has happened for decades in this country. There is no zero tolerance across communities and in many organisations.

As always, I want to call out the perpetrators of this heinous crime. On every occasion, they have to be told to stop because they are the perpetrators. Of course, they will not stop until there are proper sanctions in place and they know they will not get away with it. The reason they do this is because they know they will get away with it.

I want to speak to the Minister about financial abuse. It is huge across the board. Women's signatures have been forged on cheques and other documents. Many women are trapped in this situation. I ask the Minister to meet the Central Bank and ask it what it is doing about this. The Minister needs to ask what support it can give to women where it is clear that there was financial abuse and women have ended up with huge debts and are put under pressure by banks to pay them back. The banks have a role to play in this.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Domestic abuse remains rife in Irish society. A senior garda revealed last week that a staggering 26,000 reports of domestic abuse have been made to gardaí since the beginning of June. Gardaí receive a call about domestic abuse every ten minutes across the State. I have seen first-hand the incredible work done by Saoirse Women's Refuge in my area. It informed me of the stress a woman has to go through in the legal system. The process of obtaining a safety order can be difficult logistically as well as mentally. Often, a physically and mentally abused woman will have to bring her already traumatised children into the family law courts. There is no privacy or space and they often feel unsafe. We need to make court proceedings more survivor friendly.

I also want to welcome Natasha O'Brien to the Gallery, and thank and commend her on the selfless work and campaign she has started. I thank her for highlighting the systemic problems in our legal system.

We also have a dark history in this country of systemic industrial and cultural sexual abuse. I want to speak about the courageous women who came forward this week and spoke about the sexual abuse and homophobic and misogynistic behaviour from senior coaches in the FAI. The State has a responsibility to these women and girls, as some of the trainees were on Ireland's first State-funded all-women's soccer course. That such a culture of sexual, emotional and predatory abuse existed in Irish football is truly horrific. I commend the women on the courage and dignity they have shown.

The legacy of this investigation must be that this is not allowed to happen again. We owe it to these courageous women and future generations of Irish footballers to make sure that Irish football is a safe place for everybody. What was striking about the investigation was the complete lack of oversight and procedures in place for people to be able to come forward. No stone must be left unturned to make sure that those who abused their position and power are held to account for their actions.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I commend Natasha O'Brien, who is in the Gallery, and thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is another motion, at a time when we need to move from talking to action.

According to the Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland, SAVI, report, domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is at epidemic levels in our society. All of the reports on this matter show that. One such report by Women's Aid reported an 18% increase in disclosures of domestic abuse in 2023, compared to the previous year, the highest number ever received by the organisation in its 50-year history. It is no surprise that refuge services for those fleeing domestic violence struggle to cope and to accommodate those who need help.

Shockingly, we still have nine counties without refuges. I have raised this issue before and will do so again. I will keep raising it until we get this sorted. The two counties in my constituency, Laois and Offaly, do not have any accommodation. Families, typically women and children, have nowhere to turn, which is not acceptable. A large area in the midlands has been left without any accommodation. People have to flee these counties and go to other areas. They are disconnected from GP services, schools, family support and friends. Laois and Offaly are two of the counties with the fastest growing population. Given that we have a significant number of people aged under 24, demographics come into play. How can we let this happen? We know changes need to be made in education and our culture, public life and workplaces. This issue has to be tackled on a cross-societal basis.

Given what we have seen in recent weeks, we need better training for judges, gardaí and others who work directly with the victims of domestic violence. The issue regarding the Judiciary has been brought home to us in recent weeks. Laois and Offaly urgently require domestic violence refuges. We need to fix this. I ask the Department and all involved to treat this with a sense of urgency.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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When I leave a pub having been out socialising, my friends do not ask me to text them to let them know I got home safe. I do not worry about how I get home if I cannot book a taxi using an app or flag one down on the street. If I do not text my friends, they do not worry about me. If the sun is setting, I do not have to cancel my plans to go for a walk or run. If I am out for a walk on a dark evening, I do not have to base my trip on whether there are streetlights or I know the area will be busy. When someone walks behind me, I do not quicken my pace to make sure I am not being followed. If someone comes to chat to me, I do not check that I can make a quick exit. I do not worry about leaving my drink down when I am on a night out. When I am out in Cork or Dublin, day or night, I feel safe.

This is not the reality for many women. Not only do they not feel safe, they are not safe. They are targeted on the streets, in pubs and clubs and, far too often, in their own homes. They are targeted by strangers, partners and husbands, friends and, unfortunately, colleagues. Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence has made women a target and has meant that women are not safe. Zero tolerance must be our approach. We can no more say that someone is of good character, comes from a good family or that an incident was once-off. This cannot be accepted. We must no longer tolerate this behaviour.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I commend the Social Democrats on bringing this motion forward. Obviously there needs to be understanding and the delivery of a zero-tolerance policy when we talk about domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I commend Natasha O'Brien, who has done huge work to highlight what was absolutely necessary. She pointed out some of the issues regarding how victims or survivors are dealt with by the system in general and the fact there is a need to examine sentencing guidelines and make sure we deal with that.

In the past couple of days, as Deputy Ward said, we have had a reminder of Ireland's past in regard to some of these issues.

Another sporting organisation has huge questions to answer about women who were failed in an absolutely shameful way.

We have to deal with the issue of the taxi driver. It is not even worth naming him. We have issues with predators out there and we need to make sure protections are in place. We all rely on taxis all the time. Most taxi drivers are good, decent people. We need to make sure we have a system that can catch and not allow for circumstances like this, where someone has shown to be a predator. We need to ensure we protect both good taxi drivers and people out there, particularly women, and we do not have them in an incredibly intolerable situation. Again, we need to make sure we have a system that catches issues such as this.

I have spoken to the Minister and have said that she has put a huge emphasis on this issue. That is important. However, I think we will also accept that when we talk about the lack of refuges throughout the State, we do not currently have the data that is required. As much as we are frightened by the fact there is an increase in the amount of reporting of domestic violence, we do not have all the information necessary. It is only when we have that information and we know the absolute need that we can provide the services required. At times I, like many others, go Dundalk Counselling Centre, Women’s Aid in Dundalk and Rape Crisis North East. They are always under pressure to be able to deliver. I go to the Garda and, at times, we have an excellent service that is provided. However, we are talking about under-resourcing related to the existing need and we have to be able to deliver on it. We need to make a point of having that information and data, and providing it.

Housing is an issue and we need to look at best practice throughout the world. We have seen that some of our partners have done much better.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate Deputy Ó Ríordáin and wish him well on his recent election to Europe. I hope it goes well for him.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion. We in the Labour Party had a similar motion last week. As others have mentioned, Natasha O’Brien is here. It would be unfair for anybody in the Opposition to suggest that the Minister has not been active in this area since her appointment as Minister for Justice. I ask her to continue to do so. However, it is true that there are nine counties without domestic violence refuges. In fact, more than half of the refuges we have are full, and that has to be addressed. One of the calls that Natasha has made is that because of the nature of the interaction she had that led to the entire case - it was one of homophobic abuse - she is adamant that hate crime legislation be pursued by this Government. I hope the Government is still serious about that, as many of us in the Opposition are also serious about that issue.

I wish to make three points. Many of them are about culture. I wish to talk initially about the Judiciary. When the troika was here, a number of controversial suggestions were made about the nature of Irish society and how reforms had to be made, and many of them were deeply unpopular. The troika - the IMF - made wide-ranging suggestions about the Judiciary in Ireland and how it is organised. They were not acted upon and I always wonder why. Is it because the Judiciary and legal system in Ireland are viewed to be so powerful, influential or untouchable that they cannot be reformed? If anybody ever steps inside a courtroom in this country, they feel like they just walked onto the movie set of a period drama from the 19th century. I think that is part of the issue here. I refer to the attitude of deference, the outdated language, the outdated costumes, the way they interact with each other, the fact that such a huge number of them are intertwined or interconnected, and even how they address each other. A massive degree of reform has to happen within our Judiciary and legal system so that we have a legal system that is reflective of modern Irish life. I do not think the type of sentences being passed down are in any way reflective of modern life. Having said that, it is true that the criminal barristers are having days of action. They had one yesterday, they will have one next week and they will have one in two weeks’ time because of issues of fees that have not been restored to them. That is affecting certain cases, including a case of rape last year that was not able to be pursued because of the inability of the court to sit because of the lack of a senior counsel, as I understand.

My second point is about sporting bodies, in response to the “RTÉ Investigates” and Sunday Independent investigation that was unveiled on Sunday. I give credit to Olivia O’Toole, the former Irish football international, who I know well. It was her tweet from 2021 that led to the investigation and uncovering of the level of abuse that was shown on our screens on Sunday night. She was frozen out of the Irish international side. She was probably the best player we ever produced. A genuinely world-class player was frozen out of the Irish international side because of what she witnessed and the attitude she had towards those in power.

Deputy Ivana Bacik and I said yesterday - we got a good response, in fairness, from the Taoiseach - that there needs to be a mechanism from the Department of sport, possibly led by an independent person, that would open up a mechanism for people to come forward to say what they may have experienced in sporting bodies over the years. It was only because Olivia tweeted this, and only because Marie Crowe and Mark Tighe pressed some buttons, that people came forward. The women thought they were on their own; they did not realise there was a general problem. If we were to do that, we would probably unearth other issues of abuse in other sporting codes. We have to allow that mechanism to take place and to start. When Deputy Ivana Bacik raised this with the Taoiseach yesterday, he said it was an excellent idea. It should be pursued. However, this is reactive stuff. This is always reactive. We react constantly to a case, a particular issue and the unearthing of abuse.

I will probably not have many more opportunities to interact with the Minister of State over the coming period of time. However, I wish to talk about something I feel strongly about, which is the nature of gender equality in Ireland. Whenever this debate happens, I always raise this and I often get criticised for it. Outside of the Arab world and Malta, Ireland has the highest rate of gender segregation in the education system. Nobody separates boys and girls in our school system more than the Irish outside of Malta and the Arab world. Some 17% of Irish primary school children go to single-gender primary schools. One third of our secondary schools are gender segregated. We have a huge obsession with separating boys and girls in our schools. What I will inevitably get, as I always do, is an email or correspondence from somebody saying that they went to an all-boys or all-girls school and they would never act the way these terrible people have acted. However, it does not help to lead to a culture of genuine understanding of the nature of gender equality, the experiences of girls and the experiences of boys when the State oversees a situation where girls go into one school and boys go into another school. It is weird and odd. It does not stand up to any scrutiny at all.

The Department of Education has not given sanction to a new single-gender school since 1998. It has effectively for the past 25 years been State policy not to separate children on the basis of gender, yet we still have it. The separation of children might be more of an urban phenomenon in terms of primary schooling, but the number of single-gender secondary schools we have is an oddity in the European and almost a global context. Parents are voting with their feet. In my constituency, a number of schools are beginning to amalgamate and change their enrolment practices. Certainly, the Department of Education has to look at this and say that if we are serious about building a culture of respect between boys and girls and men and women, we can no longer have this education system that is so determined to keep them separate, because it leads to problems.

It does not lead, necessarily, to every single past pupil of any individual school doing the types of things which have caused such upset in the recent past, but it certainly does not help. The Department of Education needs to take that on and take it seriously.

The three main points are that the Judiciary needs to be reformed, we need to open up a mechanism for victims of abuse in the sporting context to come forward, and we need to do something about gender segregation in schools.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputies for Solidarity-People Before Profit are not present, I call Deputy Canney to speak, please.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and I thank the Social Democrats for bringing it forward. It is timely, given what we saw on television in the past couple of days regarding the FAI, ladies soccer and all that goes with that. It is time to put things in place, educate people and ensure we have a proper society where everybody is treated equally, both men and women, and that no one gender has a right or power over another gender.

It is important that we start with the issue of education, to which reference was made by the previous speaker. In my view, the Department of Education is beginning to come around to the co-education ethos, where boys and girls are in the same school together. It happens in our national schools, where boys and girls sit together. When I went to national school, there was a boys' side and a girls' side and there was a big wall between us. We could not see over it and could not even look at a girl in national school. There were two separate schools in the one building in our small national school in Belclare. Thankfully, that changed and we now have a co-educational national school.

We also have what has evolved in Headford, Tuam, Mountbellew, Athenry, Loughrea and Gort, where we now have all co-educational schools. The latest change was last year, when St. Jarlath's College in Tuam, which historically was an all-boys college, went co-educational for the first time in its history. A number of girls entered first year in the school last year and it was history in the making. It should not have been but it was. I am delighted to say that many more girls are going to St Jarlath's this year. There is also Archbishop McHale College in the town. It, too, is co-educational, and has always been so, even when I was going to secondary school. It is important that all of the schools in Tuam, including the Presentation and Mercy convent schools, have now gone co-educational. We are creating this sense of co-education which is fundamental to people showing respect and living and working with one another. It is about not having a gender-based society where one gets preference over the other.

The other issue which raises its head, and has happened again in the past couple of months, is with our Judiciary system and how we deal with people who perpetrate sexual offence crimes against women or against young girls. We need to consider how that is treated and how the people who perpetrate these crimes, who are a danger to society, can reoffend, get bail and be out in society. In some cases, the Judiciary gives them the freedom to go out again. In the case of the perpetrator of the attack on Natasha O'Brien, the offender was given no jail sentence because it might affect his career in the Army. We must understand that when a person does something like this, there are consequences to that and those consequences have to be met. It has to be enacted in the strictest sense of the legislation.

We are giving the wrong signals to people. Last night, the Dáil discussed the killing of Shane O'Farrell in a hit-and-run incident, what the perpetrator of that incident did and the criminal record he had before he killed this lad. There is something wrong with our system if people who have committed so many crimes are continuously on bail. There does not seem to be joined-up thinking when it comes to An Garda, what the judge says should happen with the person, what An Garda knows about it, and the actions of all of the other organs of the State that are involved in the criminal justice system. There needs to be joined-up thinking and a better movement to ensure that what judges say is enacted. Where judges do not say something that should be enacted, they should be called to account.

We have a great deal of Garda vetting. As was said last night, if I go for a job as a bus driver, I have to be Garda vetted. If I go to another company to do it part time, I have to be Garda vetted again. There are so many Garda vetting procedures. Is it all just paperwork, rather than being effective in trying to sort things out? One Garda vetting on a person should be enough while the person is in a particular job but that vetting file should be updated if anything happens with the person in terms of a criminal record.

These are things we need to sort out. Attitude needs to change. It is important to remember that our bail system and bail laws leave a great deal to be desired. We see people going out on bail who should not be out on bail. That is important. Perhaps they are let out on bail because there is an acceptance that we do not have enough spaces to incarcerate people while they are awaiting trial. That, however, is a failure of the State and should not leave people exposed to further injuries and risk into the future.

The idea of free legal aid must be looked at. A person who repeatedly reoffends can revert to free legal aid. It may be a great principle to say that everybody is entitled to their day in court, to defend themselves and that everybody is innocent until proven guilty but it is important to look at what we are doing with free legal aid, who is benefiting from it and whether it is effective and working properly.

There is a great amount within the scope of this debate that we need to consider. Although the Government and this Dáil are in the jaws of an election, as somebody described it, it is important that we, as legislators, ensure that any citizens who go out for a walk at night time are protected and know they have the protection of the State, An Garda and the judicial system. That is fundamental to having a free society and we have work to do in every aspect to ensure we give security to everybody.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I, too, acknowledge the work that has been done on this Private Members' motion by the Social Democrats. I thank them for the research. I acknowledge the people in their offices put a great deal of effort into this. Sometimes these are the people who do not get thanked for their work.

The soft approach to criminal justice in Ireland has been a growing concern, with the Government's response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence cases often being seen as lenient. The Government's proclaimed zero-tolerance approach seems to be nothing more than empty rhetoric. In 2023, Women's Aid reported more than 40,000 disclosures of abuse against women and children, the highest number in its 50-year history. The Government's action, however, does not reflect the severity of this epidemic.

Moreover, the Government has failed to update the Dentists Act 1985, leaving the Dental Council unable to sanction unregistered dentists operating in Ireland despite their having convictions, including, very worryingly, for sexual assault. The Minister for Justice has a crucial role to play in addressing these issues but there has been a lack of decisive action on her part. This includes updating the Dáil on when sentencing guidelines from the Judicial Council will finally be published, clarifying when the report of Peter Ward SC into the administration of cases involving Defence Forces personnel charged or convicted of criminal offences will be completed and published, and advising when Defence Forces personnel who have been convicted of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will be dealt with properly.

The Government's soft approach to crime and the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee's, inaction are undermining the Irish judicial system. It is time for the Government to live up to its promise to adopt a truly zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Anything less is a betrayal of the victims of these horrible crimes and a failure of the Government's duty to protect its citizens, who, in many cases, are vulnerable citizens. The Government needs to take decisive action to address these issues and to ensure proper justice for all. In recent years, Ireland has seen a concerning trend seeping into its justice system, that is, a soft approach to criminal justice. This leniency is most evident in the handling of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence cases. The Government's claim of zero tolerance seems to be nothing more than promises, promises, promises.

The buck stops with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who for too long has ignored the bread and butter issues and the aspects of her brief that are so important. The Minister needs to take decisive action to address these issues. This includes updating the Dáil on when sentencing guidelines from the Judicial Council will finally be published and clarifying when the report of Mr. Ward SC will be dealt with. As I already pointed out, that report is important because an eminent senior counsel has made recommendations and completed a report and it has not been dealt with.

One thing that is very worrying to me, and which is outlined in the briefing for this debate, is that counselling and psychotherapy services in Ireland are completely unregulated. The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, advised the Dáil in May 2024 that it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy when counsellor and psychotherapist professions will be fully regulated. Surely, that would set every type of alarm bell going off in any right person's mind. Surely be to God the vulnerable person who puts out his or her hand and knocks on a door or contacts a counsellor or psychotherapist in need of the benefit of these services should be safe in the knowledge that the counsellor or psychotherapist is fully regulated and registered. They should be safe in the knowledge that, for example, the person is Garda vetted and a sound person to go to. If this is not the case then, surely be to God, that is extremely worrying. There could be a vulnerable person, a man, a woman - anybody - who is in an upset state of mind as it is with a lot going on in his or her life, reaching out and asking for help and maybe the individual to whom the vulnerable person is asking for help is not a nice person. That is the polite way I will put it. That individual could have ulterior motives and would not have gone through the proper scrutiny or checks and balances that should be in place. For example, if I was going to work tomorrow as a janitor in a school, whose responsibility it was to ensure the hallways and toilets are kept tidy, before I would be entrusted with that position, I would be checked and Garda vetted to make sure I am sound and normal for the job. To think we do not have those checks and balances in place for people just because they have a letter beside their name does not make sense to me. It is totally abhorrent to me. One would imagine that people to whom vulnerable people are going to for assistance have been put through the proper checks and measures.

This is why the Social Democrats are rightly bringing this issue to the floor of the Dáil and why they are so correct in doing so. I thank the Social Democrats for the benefit of having the time to make my little impassioned plea to the Minister of State. Every right-thinking person in this House supports them very much in what they are doing here today. At the end of the day, we want to ensure that people, whether a lady or any person, are safe and protected. We want to ensure that the full rigors of the law will be imposed if some awful person interferes with them or does something bad.

We heard yesterday from the family of Shane O'Farrell how the law can not serve people properly. His mother and relations were in the Public Gallery because they felt justice was denied to them. It is a place where they should not have to be. Justice was denied to them. We are speaking up today for another cohort of people who need our assistance and need the Government to put the measures in place in order for Ireland to be a clean and safe place for people to live. We must ensure that if people put out their hand to seek assistance, they are going to have a sound person catching a hold of their hand who genuinely will want to help them.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I welcome this motion and I commend the Social Democrats for bringing it forward. Adopting a zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is absolutely crucial in the context of what we have seen in recent times. Every week there seems to be another issue of violence against women or undermining of women in their sporting careers, their workplace, or when they are socialising in our society. In this country, 52% of women have experienced sexual violence. This is the majority of women in this country. It is endemic that those women who feel they can come forward to report sexual violence to An Garda Síochána are totally failed by our legal system. This is a deep failure of our society. It cannot be claimed there is a zero-tolerance approach if it cannot be guaranteed that a person in a position of power or trust, who has been put there or licensed by the State, to whom a woman goes to does not have a conviction for sexual assault. We license taxi drivers and dentists but yet we have not regulated those licensed to keep women safe. That is just not good enough.

I wish to highlight the lack of refuges in this country. If we do not deal with this issue, we are accepting the fact that we are tolerating domestic violence in this country. Nine counties have no refuges. Under the Istanbul Convention, we need at least 512 new refuge places to fulfil the target of one family refuge for every 10,000 people. This is far above the planned 280 places. That is just not good enough. At the launch of Cuan earlier this year, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, said we had to realistic about how many refuges we could create in the next three years. Being realistic when the lack of refuge space built by the State is combined with a housing crisis caused by lack of public funding by the State and a rise in domestic violence rates shows a series of failures by the State to protect women. The Mercy Law Resource Centre report last year into social housing and domestic violence shows domestic violence as one of the leading causes of homelessness. Despite this, the Government does not record those families in the homelessness data. They are not considered.

I wish also to raise the issue of section 19(a) of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 which has been raised by several people. There are serious questions in most cases of the validity of counselling records. Counselling records are third parties' opinion of something told to them confidentially. They are the counsellors' perception of their clients' state of mind and not a recounting of events. I am asking the Minister and the Taoiseach to repeal section 19(a) of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992. I ask the Minister to state before recess tomorrow when and how it is going to be repealed.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Social Democrats for bringing this motion forward. Outside of health, housing and climate change, this is the topic about which I have spoken the most since I was elected in February 2016. I am not sure how many more motions I can participate in.

This is not related to whether I will be re-elected; I just do not know whether I can keep standing up here repeating figures in the face of a failure to act. I acknowledge the progress made in terms of legislation. I acknowledge that we now have a third national strategy that aims for zero tolerance of violence. I acknowledge that there is a permanent agency. I welcome all of that. However, my frustration is not containable when I look back on my own life.

I had the privilege to work in the area of psychology. in the mid-1980s, I looked at the Kilkenny incest case. The judgement in that case stated that the appalling violence involved was not unusual for the area. In 1996 or 1997 the former Minister of State, Eithne Fitzgerald, produced a detailed report. I referred to this when I spoke on another motion. The terms of reference were broad. It was an excellent report that set things out exactly. One of the main things that jumped out was the call to examine rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators of such crimes and to make recommendations for a comprehensive preventative strategy. That was in 1996 and 1997. Let us fast forward to 2001, when we got the sexual abuse and violence in Ireland, SAVI, report. It gave mind-boggling figures in respect of the prevalence of sexual violence and all types of violence, predominantly against women.

During my time in the Dáil, we begged and appealed for the SAVI report to be updated. It took almost 20 years but we finally got the Central Statistics Office, CSO, to do a report. Now, here we are again, with motion after motion. What we should really be doing is having a debate, led by the Government, on how well it is implementing the strategy. To be in the 21st century and still be looking at the prevalence of sexual and other violence against women and some men and children, with not enough refuges and none at all in nine counties, is simply appalling. Among the consequences is that participation in society is not possible for the women who are subjected to that level of violence or the children who have to watch it.

We are here today paying tribute, and rightly so, to Natasha O'Brien and Bláthnaid Raleigh, who waived her anonymity, and the Women of Honour. I agree with much of what has been said regarding the recent suspended sentence. What struck me about it is that it prodded the review and the appointment of Peter Ward SC. Nothing proactive was happening on the Defence Forces side and that is a huge difficulty. We have Garda protective units set up, ostensibly since 2015. I welcome that. What is the review of those units? What is the feedback to the Minister? Are they operating? Do they have enough resources? We have a domestic violence group in Oughterard and Moycullen in Galway that is struggling for funding.

Last year, 40,048 disclosures of abuse were made to Women's Aid. Thanks be to God we have Women's Aid, which has pushed all of us to repeatedly highlight this topic. At what stage do we say, "Zero tolerance means zero tolerance"? To do that, we need to deal with the perpetrators. An excellent programme was put in place in Galway following the death of Manuela Riedo in 2007. In conjunction with the Galway Rape Crisis Centre, volunteers went into schools and spoke to transition year students. It was wonderfully successful but that pilot project was never resourced and never repeated.

I talked to young people about violence. The thing that jumped out from listening to them was the embarrassment and shame that is embedded in women. The shame should be on the perpetrator and the system, which is failing. The low level of reporting is due to women not having faith in the system. Ostensibly and theoretically we have improved the systems but there is still shame embedded, no place to go and no trust. That is demonstrated over and over again.

We are paying tribute to the women who have waived anonymity and have come forward but 50 years have gone by since Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hearwas published in 1974. I ask Members to search out this book and read it. It was a seminal book at the time and highlighted how things were done or not done, and women screaming in silence. We are no longer doing it in silence but our role here today is to ensure that the third national strategy is actually implemented in time and that refuges are built to be multifunctional because we should reach the stage where we no longer need them. They should be built with a multifunctional and future-use approach. This is what we should be working towards. We should train gardaí and the Judiciary and, obviously, have consistent sentences. The need for consistent sentencing was identified by the task force in 1996.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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I thank the Social Democrats for this important and thoughtful motion. It provides us with a further opportunity to highlight the blight of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in our society. I again pay tribute to the fantastic Natasha O'Brien, Bláthnaid Raleigh, the courageous Women of Honour - and men - and the many others we know who have been, and still are, suffering in silence.

It was important yesterday to hear the Taoiseach speak about the need to change the culture. That much is true, but we also need to acknowledge that 80% of victims knew their attacker and, strikingly, fewer than half told anyone about the attack. This points to systemic issues. The Department of Justice needs to ask why many victims do not have confidence to come forward. That is linked with the stark fact that only 14% of rapes reported in 2021 resulted in prosecution.

We also need to talk about the difficulties victims have in being believed. What is going to be done about the fact that only 5% of adults who experience sexual violence report the crime? Some 60% of those who did not report the crime said it was because they did not think the abuse was serious enough. One third did not do so because of feelings of shame and embarrassment. In the same year that Women's Aid had the highest number of disclosures in its 50-year history, the CSO sexual violence survey revealed that rates of reporting are still incredibly low.

Regarding regulating sectors, I asked the Minister for Health about the professions of psychology, counselling and psychotherapy. In his response to the parliamentary question I tabled, the Minister stated, "it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy when the professions will be fully regulated. I would anticipate that these registration boards will require several years to complete their work." That is very stark indeed.

Clare Haven Services does fantastic work with very little in the way of resources. It only has six units and was under severe pressure in June. Since I was elected, I have never known a period when it was not under pressure. The lack of step-down accommodation is pushing these victims either into homelessness or back to their abuser, and that is unacceptable.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion on domestic and sexual violence. I acknowledge the emphatic and empathetic contributions made by all of the speakers this morning. As the Minister, Deputy McEntee, outlined, the Government is not opposing this motion. We are all in agreement that we need to keep the momentum of change going in working towards zero tolerance for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence right across society.

As Minister of State with responsibility for law reform, I have been supporting the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and Government colleagues to keep driving improvements to our system. We have increased funding for supporting victims, introduced new legislative provisions and established Cuan as a dedicated agency to further drive on this important work.

A focus of the motion is on ensuring that professionals are held accountable and to the highest standards by relevant regulations, as well as sanctions where needed. I appreciate the urgency for further reforms in this area and I want to reiterate how this work is ongoing. However, it is important that the time is taken to get it right and ensure all issues have been fully considered and, where appropriate, addressed in the output of this work.

CORU has made great progress in examining the regulation of counselling and psychotherapy services and this work is continuing. The importance of counselling and psychotherapy services to victims cannot be underestimated, and we know it is equally important that sufficient safeguards are put in place. For this, among other reasons, it is crucial that CORU fully considers all relevant factors in order that the standards these professionals must meet to be registered are appropriate, robust and well informed.

The motion calls for a review of the Dentists Act 1985. It is welcome to hear that this is planned and listed as a priority in the national oral health policy. An implementation plan for the 2024-26 phase of the policy’s roll-out is currently being drafted by the Department of Health and the HSE. I understand it will go out for consultation later this year and will be published. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has met with the Dental Council and priority for this year is to consider the development of a small number of interim enhancements to the Dentists Act in areas identified as a priority by the Dental Council, and to proceed with these where appropriate. I understand this will include provisions enabling the Dental Council to develop a statutory scheme for continuing professional development, CPD, and competence assurance for registered dentists, in line with those provided for other regulated health professionals.

I also highlight that the Dental Council of Ireland already has powers under the Dentists Act 1985 and other provisions to withhold registration from those convicted of a sexual offence and to address the illegal practise of dentistry by unregistered individuals. The Departments of Justice and Transport, together with the Garda, will urgently review the system in place for licensing taxi drivers to identify any improvements that need to be made, including periodic rechecks of a person's suitability, to ensure as far as we can that taxis are safe.

The motion also calls for an update on when the Judicial Council will publish its sentencing guidelines. The work of the committee was outlined in detail last week but I will restate for the record that the first set of sentencing guidelines on domestic violence or violence in a relationship will be provided to the board of the Judicial Council before the end of the year. It is expected that the committee will be in a position to produce the next set of draft guidelines, which will be on fatal driving offences, relatively shortly thereafter. It is proposed to produce further guidelines dealing with other offences on a regular basis. I hope the House is assured that the process of developing sentencing guidelines is under way in a systematic fashion.

I thank all of those who have contributed to today's debate. I ask Members to keep the spotlight on domestic and sexual violence. We will get to zero tolerance by continuing to consider what we can do better, how we can keep improving the system and, most importantly, how we can provide further supports to victims. It is a topic we must keep at the top of our agenda. The attitudes which have for too long underpinned domestic sexual and gender-based violence will not change overnight but recognising the need for everyone to play their part in changing them is a start in understanding they are not acceptable. We also know we will not fix all the problems with the system overnight but I assure the House that we are still listening to those who have been through it and have found it wanting. This process of reform will take time but we are committed to making it work better for victims of these horrific crimes. The systems, processes and attitudes need to change. We will improve outcomes for victims and this Government is committed to continuing to drive this change.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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I commend Ms Bláthnaid Raleigh, the Women of Honour and the women in the FAI for speaking out, which they should not have felt the need to do. I commend, in particular, Ms Natasha O'Brien for challenging homophobic abuse. I and many others like me enjoy a degree of freedom in our public spaces because people like Ms O'Brien defend us. It is a diminishing degree of freedom in our public spaces that has come under attack in recent years. Sadly, the degree of freedom is decreasing rather than increasing.

Many of the issues we have raised in our motion were not fully addressed by the Minister of State or the Minister. They were only partially addressed, and elements of the responses were disappointing. We raised the lack of action in respect of sex for rent ,but there has been no response on that issue. We specifically asked if the Government will act now to ensure that taxi drivers who are charged with serious sexual offences are not allowed to drive. We did not get a full response on that issue. We were told in respect of the regulation of counselling psychotherapy services that work is continuing, that time is required to get it right and many aspects need to be considered. This issue has been outstanding for years. People in vulnerable situations are left in a completely unregulated sector and despite being aware of that for years, the Government is telling us it needs more time to consider the matter to get it right. That is not a satisfactory response. We have also been told that a review of the Dentists Act is planned and will be done but this situation has been highlighted for quite some time without action being taken.

The justification for the plan to continue to provide too few spaces in refuges is unacceptable. We were told it is not just about bricks and mortar but there also need to be wraparound services. Of course there need to be wraparound services. That is not sufficient excuse to continue with the under-provision as this Government in planning to do.

I thank everyone who contributed to the debate. It has been said that the Women's Aid annual report detailed 40,048 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and children in 2023. That is an 18% increase in disclosures and the total number is the highest in the organisation's 50-year history, yet there are still nine counties without any refuge for women who are fleeing domestic abuse and violence. In the areas where there is a refuge, getting access can be extremely difficult because many of them are full. That means that women are repeatedly forced into either staying in a situation where they are in fear for their lives or going into homelessness. That is the current situation, and yet the Government is only planning to partially rectify it. It is not that the State does not have money. We know from the summer economic statement made yesterday that there are billions at the disposal of this Government but a choice has been made to only put some resources into this issue and not the kind of resources that are needed. As a result, there are women and children in very unsafe situations that they do not want to be in but which they cannot get out of. They are afraid that if they cannot get a space in a refuge, they will end up in homelessness. That is not an acceptable situation. If there was genuine commitment on this issue, the Government would put in place the resources needed for enough refuge spaces so that no woman facing violence in her home would be left in the awful situation of not having somewhere safe to go. That would be done now if the Government was genuinely serious about the issue.

More than two years ago, I introduced my Bill on making sex for rent practices a criminal offence. The Government did not progress that legislation but promised to bring forward its own legislation. More than two years later, we are left in a situation whereby there is still no timeline for that and no action from the Government. There has been terrible exploitation of renters in that area and yet there has been no meaningful action from the Government. The intent of our motion is that we want the words to be matched by actions.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I thank everybody who contributed to the debate. The Minister correctly identified that changing cultures and institutions is not easy and takes time. We know that. That is why it is so frustrating that the relatively easy first steps, such as updating and introducing regulations, simply have not been done. If the Government is not willing to do the easy stuff, how on earth can we have any confidence that it will tackle the bigger issues?

I am glad the Government is not opposing the motion but we know that is completely meaningless when there is no commitment to urgently looking at the regulation of taxis, dentists, counselling services and landlords who are demanding sex in lieu of rent. The list goes on.

I will ask again about taxi regulation because I was not clear what the Minister was committing to. Is she saying there is a review of taxi regulations in their entirety or not? Yesterday, the Taoiseach indicated that there would be. I understand the Minister said that the frequency of Garda vetting is under review, which I welcome because as it stands, that only takes place every five years. When drivers receive convictions, it is up to them to notify the Garda when there is clearly very little incentive for them to do so. It is important that this is reviewed as quickly as possible. We also need a broader review to ensure the offences that lead to the disqualification of taxi licences are comprehensive and up to date. We must examine the issue of the suspension of licences in cases where a licence holder has been charged with a serious crime.

The Minister's response in respect of the Defence Forces prompts me to say that this Government has a habit of talking in riddles. The reality is that there are serving members of the Defence Forces who have been convicted of crimes similar to that of Cathal Crotty, but the difference is that they are still in uniform. What is the Government going to do about that? It is going to wait for a review from a senior counsel, apparently. Why is the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence not asking why these personnel have not been sacked? It is blatantly a double standard. Doing the right thing in the glare of the media spotlight is one thing but all too often, the Defence Forces do not do the right thing when they think no one is looking. I am hopeful that as an institution, the Defence Forces will change but they need to provide us with evidence of this reform agenda.

Crucially, the Tánaiste should to not have to appoint a senior counsel to ensure that there is some kind of consistency in terms of who is suspended.

We all know that the prevalence of violent misogyny in Ireland is overwhelming. In every village, town and city across the country there are people experiencing sexual and domestic violence every day. The horrific statistic from Women's Aid has been mentioned a lot in this Chamber in recent weeks. There were over 40,000 reports of domestic violence last year.  Each one of those reports represents a woman in horrific circumstances. The constant fear and abuse that women are experiencing has a devastating impact on their lives. Women are reporting isolation, hopelessness, miscarriages, suicidal ideation, poverty and homelessness. I recognise that the Minister has done work in this area. However, the blunt reality is that women who experience domestic and sexual violence are still being failed by the State at every single step.

Women and families fleeing situations of domestic violence do not have sufficient refuge spaces in which to seek safety. They literally have nowhere to go. There are nine counties still without refuge spaces. Many refuges have been operating at a 100% capacity rate for years. The Minister says that this is an issue she is working on. I recognise that but if this was really being treated as an emergency by all of Government, those spaces would be available now. The fact that women in violent situations literally have nowhere to go is not evidence of a zero-tolerance approach.

Last week, Bláthnaid Raleigh waved her right to anonymity after Jonathan Moran, the man who raped her, was sentenced to eight years.  She has highlighted one of the most horrific aspects of how victims are treated in the courts, with their counselling notes being obtained during the trial process. She said, "I don't have any access to any counselling notes he has or any of his GP notes.  All of this is very one-sided and it all just adds to the trauma".  This is a perfect example of how our justice system treats the victims as if they are on trial. The Minister has said it is something she is working on. I welcome that, but how is it taking this long? This practice is going to continue until the law is changed. It is something which is, again, the sole responsibility of Government.

Again and again we see this pattern of women forced to speak publicly about their trauma before we see any kind of change. The women who came forward from the FAI are incredibly brave, as are Natasha O'Brien, Bláthnaid Raleigh, the Women of Honour and so many more in their pursuit of justice, but they should not have to bare their souls and their trauma to the world in order to receive justice. For the women who came forward and spoke so bravely, we must not fail them and other women again. I do not think speaking about a zero-tolerance approach without matching it with necessary actions is acceptable. People accept that cultural and societal issues take time, but we know that there are issues that can be addressed immediately. If the Government does not do that, it is fair to say people will not have confidence that it will address the overarching, bigger and more cultural and societal issues too.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. That concludes the debate.