Bríd Smith demands refuges and non-ethos sex education after Aisling Murphy

What are you going to say? I'm going to talk to you about the story of the story of Aisling Murphy. I'm going to talk to you about the story of Aisling Murphy. It's already been said about the shockwaves through this country in the aftermath of yet another violent killing of a woman. And it's felt, I think, particularly in the wake of the repeal and the Me Too movements, the dozens, tens of thousands of young women throughout the country who came out to express their anger and their sorrow and their dismay that this can happen in 2022. I think all of us females in this country, if we're honest, have at some stage in our lives experienced either a mix of harassment, abuse, sexual threats, aggression, misogyny. And some people much more than others, even the 244 women who died at the hands of misogynist violence in this country. So it's a universal experience. And I think that we need to now own up to the universality of the oppression of women. And it doesn't just stem from a country like Ireland. It is universal. The UN figures on violence against women and the killing of women right across the globe are extraordinary. It comes from a system that oppresses one gender in favour of the other and does so to use their labour, their place in the home, which still remains in our constitution, by the way, and their image and abuse of their image to make lots and lots of money through very violent sexualised porn. And for that reason, I think that it's very important that Taoiseach give a commitment to changing the sex education regime for young boys and girls in this country. And four years ago, it passed second stage a bill that we put on objective sex education and it's still sitting at committee. And the key thing to that bill is that it has to be non ethos based. It's 92% of our schools are run by the Catholic Church. And that church we believe is incapable of delivering a non ethos based sex education, which is absolutely required. The Istanbul Convention, which we signed up to, calls for one refuge place for domestic violence sufferance per 10,000 of the population. Currently, Dublin should have 135 refuge places. It has 29. Cork, your own city, should have 54. It has six. We're providing 29% of the Istanbul target. Those are two things you could move on immediately. I heard you say the Minister is going to take responsibility. There will be cross-party cooperation. But there are two immediate and urgent issues that we really need to change in this country. That's the provision of services for domestic violence. To move from a budget of 30 million given to Toothless to deal with this issue as against a budget of 88 million given to the greyhound and horse industry last year. That is absolutely appalling that the lives of women are less valued than the cruelty administered to dogs and horses. But I want to ask you how we can trust a government who last year accepted a commissioned report on the mother and baby homes and people who protest outside today saying there isn't enough redress for them. That they don't accept that the truth in that report reflects their experience. Yet we are sitting in front of a government who accepted that lock, stock and barrel and again have let down a cohort of women who are victims of the legacy of systemic violence and abuse in this country. Two questions. How can we trust you? What will you do immediately about the budgets for refuge and sex education and other changes in this country that are required? First of all, I would agree wholeheartedly in terms of the overarching principle that we have articulated on the need to eliminate all forms of violence against women and to create the policies and mechanisms for the delivery of those policies to achieve that. As I said, the Minister for Justice has been working to be fair over the last 12 months on an overarching national strategy in terms of domestic violence, sexual violence and gender-based violence more generally. And that which should be completed by early March. And also in addition to that, then the Minister will be taking the lead role in respect of not just policy, but also the provision of services. And that includes allocation of funding for more refugee places. But I think better than that really in terms of a more focused stand-alone provision, not necessarily through the existing system for the provision of centres, but rather a more focused departmental-led approach that would get things done much faster in terms of provision. It won't be an issue of capital resources, I can assure you, in terms of providing additional places and centres, and also in terms of the ongoing wraparound services that are required for children in such circumstances as well. In terms of relationships and sexuality education, I believe and agree that it should be non-ethos based without question and that a national curriculum should be implemented irrespective of the patronage of the school. The more important issue though, and that's why I think a legislative approach alone is not adequate at all. What relationships and sexuality education requires in schools is capacity supports for those who teach and provide the curriculum. Now the NCCA National Curriculum Council assessments have been engaged for quite some time on a fundamental review of the junior certificate syllabus in relation to relationships and sexuality. That's coming to a conclusion. I met with the Minister a fortnight ago, going ahead of the years program, and asked that we would accelerate consideration of the senior cycle. But when I say capacity, at the teacher training college level, there should be modules on relationships and sexuality as a core part of the overall curriculum in our teacher training colleges. In some other areas, but in this one, it's particularly important. I put forward the idea that there should be perhaps a poster responsibility in every school. That person would have the authority and responsibility to deliver throughout the school the program. And there has to be very comprehensive in-service programs for teachers in primary and second level schools, because that's where there has been challenges. And I would have been involved in the original introduction of relationships and sexuality education in 1998 and 1999 and 2000, and having monitored and watched and evaluated how it's progressed. All curriculum change, the most fundamental prerequisite is really comprehensive investment in teachers in terms of continuing professional development and in terms of the original education through the teacher training colleges. Well, to respond to the last item for us to see if you were familiar with the bill that we put four years ago, the fundamental thing it does is amends the Education Act to remove the barrier of ethos in the delivery of the curriculum. And you're going to have to address that, because with 92% of our national schools being run by Catholic ethos, as I have said, it is up to the schools to refuse to implement that objective sex education, if it flies in the face of their ethos. So will you please try and address that for me in your next answer? And secondly, on the question of refuge places, it's hugely important. We have been campaigning in Carlow and Dun Laoghaire, and I'm sure the deputies in the House have been campaigning locally for refuge places. Nine counties have no refuge whatsoever. The 42% of the Istanbul Convention being implemented by this country is outrageous. And unless you address that immediately, without going through the rigours of setting up special committees, give the funding to Tusla to be able to provide the places, to keep hostels open, to stop closing them and to create new ones where they are required. Over 3,000 victims of sexual abuse, at a minimum, I don't have the exact figure in front of me, were left outside of supports during the COVID pandemic, because of the dearth of spaces. And that has to be addressed immediately, not sometime vaguely in the future. And there are two things I would like you to take on board. Thanks. On the latter point, I agree in terms of the need for additional places and to do it as quickly as we possibly can. But I think the system, to be frank with you, we've had three government departments, housing, children and justice. That's not optimal. And housing has largely, through the UCAS system, provided for the refuge places to be developed and so on. And too much has it depended on groups coming to government or coming to the authorities to say, we want to set something up. I think the audit has taken place. Basically, from the centre out, we should now be designing properly what a modern refuge center should be all about. Proper, high quality facilities, go away, design and do it. And that's what we intend to do on that refuge piece. And that, to me, would speed up what has been in some areas. In some areas it works because of local activism. But it can't just depend on local activism. And some counties have very little provision at the moment. And I know Deputy Monana O'Connor has been on to me. In terms of Carlow, for example. That's an example and an illustration. So we need to do that better. And in terms, I agree, there is a need to change legislation in terms of relationships and sexuality. But I would have to stress that it has to be a suite of an overarching package that involves the curriculum itself. And the capacity to deliver it in the classroom. That is the key. And moving on. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.