Mr. David Walsh:

The Deputy raised the question of domestic violence. There are many cases where domestic violence is clear cut and where one party is clearly committing the violence and the other party is clearly the victim but, as we pointed out in our submission, in approximately 50% of cases it is not clear cut and it is not clear who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. Both may be both at the same time. This is a complex area that needs to be looked at. People must be satisfied they are distinguishing which is which and whether both parents are engaged in it at the same time. There is something called a victim-perpetrator matrix, as I understand it, which is used by the Garda. I am afraid that in all cases it assigns one role to one individual and the other role to the other. We take issue with this for the reasons we have set out. Research shows it is much more complex than this and it needs to be looked at much more closely.