Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

Exactly. A total of 29% of women, or one in three and only 5% of men, or one in 20, report these incidents to the Garda. While I do not wish to take from the arguments regarding domestic violence against females, there is an issue if only one in 20 males report domestic violence to the Garda. The three figures I have highlighted must be considered and evaluated. We must ask whether we are addressing the needs of the male gender. Is the issue of domestic violence being addressed from the perspective of a single gender or is it being examined holistically from the perspective of both genders? This is something we should examine closely. Before my colleague Senator John Paul Phelan makes his contribution, I want to ask one question of the Minister of State. On 21 September, the AMEN group met the Minister of State and asked whether he was in a position to provide funding to the group for male domestic violence. While I am open to correction, my understanding is that at the time, the Minister of State did not reject the request outright. However, it was made clear that it was highly unlikely that the group would receive any ongoing Government funding to provide support for male victims of domestic abuse. Is this true? If this is not the case, what is the Minister of State's position with regard to providing funding to male victims of domestic violence?