Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. Every morning, many women and some men wake up exhausted, drained and concerned. They are trying to hide bruises and other marks on their bodies with make-up or by whatever means in order to try to face their children and the world at large. In many instances, if they have even been able to sleep, they wake up terrified because of the psychological damage that has been done to them. Their self-esteem has been hugely impacted upon and yet they are trying to put on a face on in front of their children, work colleagues and communities.

We owe it to these women and men to do everything we can to try to make their lives more bearable and easier. There are many ways in which we can do this and the Bill before the House is one of them. It began life back in 2011, so we have waited some time to have the opportunity to debate it and to find ways to improve it. I welcome all the work that was done in the Seanad and I commend all the Senators, particularly those in Fianna Fáil and the Independents, who introduced 21 different amendments to improve the legislation. I also commend the NGOs that have been involved, particularly SAFE Ireland and the National Women's Council of Ireland, on their work in formulating amendments that truly reflect the experience of domestic violence. Ultimately, all we can do is listen to the voices of the victims and put in place measures to help to protect and support them.

Comparative European statistics have shown that Irish women are among the least likely to report domestic abuse. Approximately three months ago, I attended a meeting of the Kildare joint policing committee and was surprised that no domestic violence figures were being reported. I was told that the matter was not categorised but that the committee would certainly look at it. At the meeting the following month - approximately six weeks ago - figures were provided. I was amazed at how low they were because I knew they did not reflect the reality of the situation.

All Deputies know from the women who attend their clinics and who are trying to get away from their abusive partners that the numbers are far higher. I acknowledge the compassion of the gardaí present at the meeting who explained that, in many cases, women will make complaints but then subsequently withdraw them. That is something we cannot allow to fester. We must show the victims that we will give them support and that they should not be afraid to report abuse and follow through on it.

At the invitation of Women's Aid, I went to the family court in Dolphin House, Dublin, last year and I was dismayed at the horrific circumstances in which many women, and their children, found themselves. There were not enough consultation rooms and very often the women were sitting only a matter of feet away from the persons who had perpetrated the violence against them. That is not good enough. We need to do much more to support our family court system.

We also need to do more to support the children in these cases. We need strengthened protections for children living with domestic abuse because, too often, they are often forgotten in these situations. Bearing witness to domestic abuse leaves children with deep emotional scars. Organisations such as Barnardos have seen the result of children living in an abusive environment at first hand. Deep anxiety, aggressive outbursts and withdrawing into themselves are commonplace, not to mention the impact on their health, schooling and peer relationships. I would have witnessed that when I taught children aged four and five. Quite simply, domestic violence is a form of child abuse.

We need to examine ways in which we can ensure, within the legislation, that children's safety needs are assessed and addressed when barring orders are being granted. We must examine ways of minimising the possibility that children escaping from domestic violence may become homeless. This is a very difficult situation and we need to do more to support our safe homes such as Teach Tearmainn in Kildare, which spent 12 years looking for a safe place where women and their children could go in an emergency when experiencing domestic violence. For a number of years, only half of that accommodation was open. That is not good enough. If we are saying to women and, in some cases, men that we will support them when they escape violence in their homes. By not providing a safe place for them to go, however, we are failing in our duty to all of them.

There are many welcome improvements as a result of amendments to the Bill but I highlight, in particular, the extension of eligibility for safety and protection orders to all persons in intimate relationships without need of co-habitation. The new offence of coercive control is hugely significant. I refer also to the introduction of factors to which the courts shall have regard in determining applications for orders and the inclusion of the relationship between defendant and victim as an aggravating circumstance in relevant offences. We have to acknowledge that many young women, and young men, in dating relationships can become victims of intimate partner abuse. This amendment is a major positive step.

Section 9 deals with emergency barring orders. This is new provision. A barring order can be made where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is an immediate risk of significant harm to the applicant or dependent person if such an order is not made immediately.

The Bill is very welcome. The Minister will have our support for it but I am sure he will understand that there are some areas, particularly in terms of supporting children, in which there needs to be an improvement.

I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to working with my colleagues on it.

See this speech in context