Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I draw the attention of the House to the surge in calls to the Women's Aid national helpline. There were 19,000 calls to this helpline last year, which is an increase of 26%. The details of the figures are frightening. Some 44% reported emotional abuse and 33% reported physical abuse. An example of emotional abuse is a woman being threatened by her partner, husband or co-habitee that if she left the house, she and her children would be killed. She is therefore obliged to stay in the home of the person who is committing violence against her.

A tragic issue raised yesterday was that of women who are disabled and in wheelchairs and whose abusers are their carers, who are withholding their subsistence allowances from them and their food. Women's Aid has been unable to respond to a third of the 19,000 calls it received last year. The group has been receiving calls from accident and emergency departments, from doctors and social workers who are using the service. However, it does not have enough money from the North Eastern Health Board to help a third of the 19,000 callers. I call on the Minister for Health and Children to advise the House whether she intends to allocate money to help staff and volunteers to respond to calls from Women's Aid. This serious issue relates to women, generally speaking.