An Cathaoirleach: Apologies have been received from Deputy Callaghan. I remind members and guests to turn off their mobile phones or switch them to flight mode. I am delighted to say that the purpose of this meeting is to have an engagement on the topic of supports and experiences of victims of crime. On behalf of the committee, I extend a warm welcome to all of our guests. They are Ms Ruth Maxwell, criminal injuries compensation tribunal, CICT, consultant, victims' representative and victim survivor; Ms Lynette Bradshaw and Ms Susan Whelan from Accompaniment Support Services for Children; Dr. Ian Marder and Ms Sara Murphy from Victim Support at Court; Ms Joan Deane and Ms Kamila Lewandowska from AdVIC; Dr. Liam O'Driscoll, lecturer in law at TU Shannon; and Ms. Michele Puckhaber, chief executive of the Crime Victims Helpline. We are also delighted to welcome Ms Niamh McGuinness, who is a victim and survivor of crime...

...Ms Niamh McGuinness: There is clearly so much work to be done in this area and I am grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the conversation. I have been working with people impacted by adversity for over two decades, including people experiencing poverty, addiction, homelessness and mental ill health. I am also a mother whose son was murdered. Losing a child is everyone's worst nightmare. Losing a child to violence adds another layer of horror that is impossible to articulate. My son was kind, empathetic, loved animals and music and is adored and missed unbelievably by his family. He is now part of a devastating statistic, which is that 85% of homicide victims in Ireland are male. Despite this number, our systems are built on subtle victim-blaming. We have made great progress in creating appropriate outrage regarding violence against women but there is a pervasive assumption that men invite violence through their lifestyle or choices. That cultural bias leads to a massive disparity in empathy and, consequently, a massive disparity in funding for interventions and supports.

My experience of navigating the very system this committee is reviewing has revealed a system that can inflict secondary trauma. Initially I was told by gardaí that they had "the body of a deceased male." I had to beg them to stop referring to my son as a body. When I went to identify him I was separated from my son by a glass screen and treated as a witness to evidence rather than as a grieving mother. I could not hold him or go to him. Legal technicalities left him in a morgue for seven days, leading to physical changes that caused me to black out when I finally did get to hold him. I was only informed after I identified him that I would be required to give evidence at the Coroner’s Court....

Deputy Paula Butterly: As the Chair said, there is not a public representative in here who has not had to deal with and listen to the stories of various victims from all parts of Ireland. I continue to hear at an increasingly alarming rate is, even when someone is an indirect victim, perhaps a member of the family affected, by not having the correct supports in place, those people can suffer detrimental consequences years down the line, such as addiction and violence. It is a precursor to intergenerational problems. I would like to hear people's opinions on that - any of the witnesses.

Ms Niamh McGuinness: I was reading that the National Office for Suicide Prevention estimates through research that, for every person who dies by suicide, roughly 18 people are impacted. There is that ripple effect the Deputy described - the immediate family, extended family and the community. People hear about it at school and sports clubs. So many people are impacted. They are doing a lot of work in that area to put the supports in to avoid that contagion or exposure, that decline in mental health and well-being and that addiction to cope with the aftermath. Something could be done to estimate the number of people impacted by violent crime, for example.

Ms Joan Deane: We support families, friends and individuals and communities affected by homicide. We provide professional trauma counselling, which I mentioned earlier. That can go on for a long time. The time a person or family looks for the support can vary from immediately after the event to years later...

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