In light of the brutal attack on a woman in her home in Ladyswell, Dublin 15 this morning, the Socialist Party MEP for Dublin, Joe Higgins local Councillor in the Mulhudddart area Ruth Coppinger who today visited the community in which the attack took place to meet with nearby residents, issued the following joint statement. “The Mulhuddart community in is shocked and appalled by an attack with a hammer on a young mother early this morning.
“The details of this case will not be known for some time and comment must be limited as investigation is underway. However, this violent assault has highlighted once again the level of domestic violence against women in Ireland. Such violence is clearly at worrying levels and a fresh discussion must be opened up in society as to why this is so and what can be done about it. We have seen a whole number of women unlawfully killed in their homes in recent court cases, as well as the hundreds of others seriously injured which go unreported . The collateral damage to children and families is also huge.
“The response of authorities to this problem has been pitiful over the years. The greater Dublin, with a population of well over one million people, has five refuges for women fleeing violence in the home: Rathmines, Coolock, Bray, Tallaght and Blanchardstown. Rathmines reports that it is turning away 45 families every month.
“The Greater Blanchardstown area has had its refuge opened recently after countless delays and only has places for 8 families. Having nowhere to go is still the most common reason for women not to leave an abusive relationship. If , as current best practice recommendations suggest, 1.7 units are needed per 10,000 population the Fingal area with a population of approximately 200,000 would need 34 units.
“The Socialist Party calls for full funding for the organisations working in the area of domestic violence and for provision of the full compliment of refuges in the capital and throughout the country. The contrast with the €22 billion lost in the black hole of Anglo Irish and the latest predictions of hundreds of millions of euro in NAMA when a long term profit was previously predicted makes this shameful situation all the more stark.”
