Ms Caitríona Gleeson:

Research we have conducted has indicated that if we take a single incident of what happens to a woman and how it is seen in the courts, there is no indication of the tactics and ongoing abuse from the partner or perpetrator. He may appear on one incident but that does not capture the totality of the woman's experience; the evidence may not be admissible, it may not have been collected or the legislation may not cover it. We did an initial review of international legislation that indicated a trend, particularly in Europe. The trend in the 1990s was to introduce protective measures, and Ireland was at the table in that regard. The trend in Europe now is to look to capture both within our civil remedy but in the criminal element an offence that deals with the gross violations perpetrated against the individual. The Swedish package is one to consider, although we cannot transfer laws easily.

We are seeking to capture ongoing abuse as an offence that is seen as a greater offence because it is perpetrated in an intimate relationship. Even at a cultural level we could start to think like that. In Ireland, we have put domestic violence in civil law, with proceedings taking place in camera in a hidden system.We need to turn the idea so that it is an even greater offence if somebody breaches the trust of an intimate relationship and violates it. That is what the Swedish legislation has done and it has been evaluated after ten years. I am not saying we must cut and paste anything but if we want to shift change, we could consider that legislation. People would have the option to seek prosecution under such a law.