Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a short contribution but it is very important that I make it. As the Minister, Deputy Doherty, leaves the Chamber, I commend her on her most powerful speech here today. It brings the plight of domestic abuse survivors home to people. In referring to that issue, I have been looking at something from the Samaritans in respect of abuse and domestic violence. Sometimes we can have a narrow definition of these issues. The Samaritans say:

Abuse includes emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. Domestic violence is a term used to describe emotional, physical or sexual abuse from a family member or in a relationship.

It speaks about emotional abuse, which is:

When someone threatens, humiliates, bullies, intimidates, calls you worthless or belittles you. It can include things such as constant criticism; threats; being controlled by someone; being constantly put down; and having your things destroyed.

It defines physical abuse as:

When someone deliberately injures, attacks or assaults you. It can include things such as being pushed; punched; slapped or beaten; having your hair pulled; or being spat on.

It can include neglect, which it defines as:

When a child, young, elderly or dependant person does not have enough food; care or supervision; clothing; medical care; or somewhere warm and clean to live. It can include things such as when a child's parents leave them alone for a long time, or do not provide enough food.

Those are statements by the Samaritans. I commend it and other such organisations throughout the country, in particular those working in hostels. All Members know of hostels across the country for many years and have heard stories of women and children being taken in by them in the middle of the night. Nobody can deny that. The Samaritans organisation also addresses the help that is available. I commend such people.

Part of the problem is, and has for many years been, people's fear of reporting what happens to them. I am not referring to neighbours or groups but, rather, to family members. Many people in Irish society have suffered domestic violence for many years but are afraid to tell their families.

I commend the Minister on the Bill because I have discovered, having read it over the past few days, that it is comprehensive and covers many situations. There doubtless also will be some amendments to it. It is of the utmost importance and will prompt a new debate on the issue.

As the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, stated, the Bill applies to men as it does to women, which is important. Although there is no doubt that the vast majority of those who suffer domestic violence are women, it also affects a percentage of men.

It is sad that Irish women still do not want to report domestic violence. In the UK, 92% of women who were murdered had been threatened, intimidated or controlled, which is a worrying figure. Similar statistics are not available for Ireland. However, some who work in the area of trying to assist people have said that up to 300,000 people may be affected by domestic violence in Ireland.

I wish to dwell for a moment on the life of a child who suffers by seeing domestic violence in the home. My view, and probably that of most in the House, be they officials or Deputies, is that children never recover from domestic violence. It destroys the child's whole life, takes away his or her childhood, leaves him or her very sad and is not something about which he or she wants to talk. It is a sad part of life that such children never seem to forget. To see a parent, be it the mother or father, perpetrating domestic violence in the home must be very frightening and terrorising for young people who could be as young as two, three or four or older. It also contributes to mental health issues. It has such a knock-on effect that affected children cannot recover from it or get it out of their minds. In many respects, it leaves a blot on many people's lives.

I wish to focus on the Garda Síochána, which does not get enough credit for its role in dealing with domestic violence. I am strongly in favour of there being a separate Garda unit to deal with the problem because it is becoming such an issue. I recently met two gardaí in a rural area who had travelled quite a distance to attend a domestic dispute one morning. I was thinking about how much effort they put in, possibly to try to make peace or ensure children were safe.

It is a harrowing experience for members of An Garda Síochána, most of whom have their own families. I am sure it must be very challenging for them to stand in the middle of a kitchen floor dealing with a domestic violence situation where there are young kids, people hurt and a lot of fallout. They do a marvellous job in most domestic violence situations. This Bill will improve the situation in that we will have a more open debate about this and we will have strong legislation. I hope the publication of the Bill and the procedure we are going through here will ensure we are all more open about this. We should be very concerned about it. I know from people and from things I hear that living with domestic violence and being controlled by someone is a frightening scenario. It is the most difficult life and, as I said earlier, people cannot even tell their families about it.

The second national strategy on domestic violence, which will run until 2021, is really about awareness and we need to make ourselves more aware of the situation. Therefore, I and my party are very glad to support the Bill and I am glad that Fianna Fáil in the Seanad made some major contributions to it. As I said, I hope and I have no doubt but that the Bill will have the full support of this House. It is a good day and a good end to the year. We have been working on this all year to get this far. It is a major step forward. As we come into the last week before Christmas, let us remember that in many homes at this time of year there is a major issue with domestic violence.

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