Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the importance of the issue Deputy Adams raises. The Minister for Justice and Equality wrote to Deputy McDonald of Deputy Adams' party on 4 October. She had raised on 28 September on the Order of Business a question concerning the Government's intentions on domestic violence legislation. The Minister pointed out in the letter that the commitment in the programme for Government is to introduce consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation to address all aspects of that, including domestic violence, threatened violence and intimidation, in a way that provides protection to victims.

The Minister made the point that in the meantime the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 has widened the protections that are provided for in the Domestic Violence Act 1996 as follows. First, there is no longer a minimum required period of cohabitation before one of a cohabiting couple may apply for a safety order, whereas previously the applicant was required to have resided with the respondent for at least six of the previous 12 months. Second, same-sex couples now have the same access to the protections of the Domestic Violence Act as opposite-sex couples. The relevant provision previously referred only to couples living together as husband and wife. Third, the scope of section 2, which specifies who may apply for a safety order, has been broadened to enable a person to obtain a safety order against a person with whom they have a child in common. These are the three issues referred to by the Minister for Justice and Equality in the letter to Deputy McDonald on 4 October in respect of the legislation on domestic violence.

See this speech in context