Taoiseach tells Dáil domestic violence ‘shames manhood’

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil he is “appalled” by domestic violence and that they are two words that should never go together.

Mr Kenny said “it shames manhood for those who beat women. It’s a crime to beat a woman.”

He added that “those who profess in their manhood or their machoness that they’re doing good by beating women, do themselves and their families and our nation down”.

The Taoiseach also told the Dáil that the Domestic Violence Bill would be published before the end of the year and when implemented would allow the State to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which the State signed in November 2015.

Mr Kenny was responding to AAA-PBP TD Ruth Coppinger who asked "what can a woman expect if she tries to escape domestic violence in Enda Kenny's Ireland?"

The Dublin West TD said “firstly she may not be lucky enough to get through on one of the helplines because you’ve systematically cut their funding”.

She said that woman could be one of the 6,000 women turned away from refuges last year. “That’s 16 every day. What happens to those women Taoiseach? Do you know?”

And she said the Government’s housing plan promises only eight refuge places next year.

Pregnant women

She said the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin estimated that one in eight pregnant women experience violence.

“Imagine Taoiseach if 25 per cent of all violent crime is a man assaulting his own wife or partner. If that was gangland crime we would be hearing this shouted about from the rooftops,” she told Mr Kenny.

She called on the Taoiseach to “specifically agree to increase refugee space to the European norm of one per 10,000. Will you agree to provide rent allowance to any woman fleeing domestic violence?

“Will you stop the cuts to the Rape Crisis Centres, Women’s Aid, to other services and properly invest in them. Will you also agree to the legislative changes we need and to drop the (legal) fees for any woman seeking to get a protection order?”

She asked “how much of a priority is this for your Government because I have to put it to you based on the evidence it doesn’t rate highly?”

Taoiseach’s response

Mr Kenny highlighted the measures in the Bill and said that it would put all measures linked to the issue of domestic violence into one piece of legislation.

He said it would provide for the extension of access to interim eight-day emergency barring orders. He said a victim would no longer have to have equal or greater interest in a property from which a perpetrator is being before being barred.

The victim would be able to bring a family member, friend or support worker to court with them. It would be possible to give evidence by televisual link, to avoid intimidation of victims.

The anonymity of victim and perpetrators would be preserved other than where a victim chose not to be anonymous. And the perpetrator would be barred from communicating with the victim electronically, said Mr Kenny.

The Taoiseach said Child and Family Agency Tusla was providing €20.6 million this year to support 60 services for those affected by domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and would receive an increase of €37 million in 2017. He added that €12 million was in place for emergency refuge and support services.

Almost €5 million was being provided for community-based domestic violence support services and €4 million went to Rape Crisis Centres.

Mr Kenny said the additional €37 million for Tusla “will result in increased expenditure on the work it does in various areas throughout the country such as the provision of funding for 147 family units of emergency refuge space and eight family units of emergency non-refuge space.

He added that this year eight additional family units of accommodation, six additional units of emergency refuge accommodation in Dublin and Kildare and two emergency safe housing units in Sligo were funded by Tusla.