Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Beidh Sinn Féin ag tacú leis an mBille seo. Is Bille tábhachtach é. Táimid ag lorg an Bille seo ar feadh tamaill i ndáiríre chun go mbeidh muid in ann ár n-ainm a chur go hiomlán leis an gCoinbhinsiún Iostanbúl.

I thank the Minister for bringing the Bill forward. It is a welcome Bill that is long overdue. It has been debated during Question Time on a number of occasions in the last two or three years. The Bill will enable Ireland to ratify the Istanbul Convention. Ireland is already a signatory to the convention but has not yet ratified it. Some 45 countries have signed the convention. Of those, 33 have ratified it and Ireland is one of the 12 countries that has signed the convention but not ratified it.

In general, there is an effort to co-operate on a cross-party basis on issues relating to domestic and sexual violence. Some people think we never agree in the House but the example I usually offer is the Domestic Violence Act 2018. That measure only got traction in the media after it became law, but the debate on it in the Houses was constructive and saw significant engagement. It was a good Bill to begin with and there was constructive engagement across the parties. In the Seanad a number of amendments were accepted, to the extent that we have a good law. There are probably ways it can be improved but it is good law. It got no real coverage outside the Houses but it is an example for issues of this nature which are of great importance. That is right and that should be the way to proceed. We must do everything we can to protect women, children and everybody from all forms of violence, and prosecute and eliminate domestic violence and violence against women.

Section 3 is the core of the Bill in many respects. Subsections (1) to (4) provide that it is an offence for a person to commit a relevant offence on board an Irish ship or on an aircraft registered in the State and that it is an offence for an Irish citizen or resident to commit a relevant offence in a convention state. The relevant offences are assault causing harm, assault causing serious harm, threats to kill or cause serious harm, coercion or harassment under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault under the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, rape and rape under section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990. This measure provides for full extra-territorial jurisdiction for these key offences. As the Minister of State pointed out, for Irish citizens murder and manslaughter were already long covered by extra-territoriality but this extends it to somebody who is not a citizen but who is ordinarily resident in the State. Where such a person commits murder or manslaughter outside the State the person can be convicted under the laws of this jurisdiction.

The enabling of international co-operation in this Bill is particularly welcome and necessary. We must also have a more integrated approach between the North and the South. We should work as much as possible on an all-island basis on domestic and sexual violence. That is necessary to address the problem. Adopting good practices both North and South would allow us to tackle the problem in a more meaningful way.

As with many other legislative areas, unless we have the resources to support the actions of ratifying this convention we will continue to fail women, children and men who suffer domestic violence. Everybody accepts that. Clearly, the convention is important but ultimately it will not provide the protection that is required to everyone who is at risk of domestic violence. The number of people who suffer domestic violence is still significant. The Government should look again at the resources available. There were many cuts in this area during the recession and large parts of the country do not have adequate services or resources. In our 2019 alternative budget Sinn Féin committed to investing in services such as domestic violence housing support at a cost of €2.8 million and pledged to treble the funding for Rape Crisis Network Ireland from €60,000 to €180,000 per annum. That is a €3 million investment in specific measures, allowing for the adequate services people so desperately need and which consistently experience underfunding by this Government. It does not take a great deal to fund such services and the great work they do gives a tenfold return on what they receive. They are vital if we are to be taken seriously in our efforts to make Ireland a safer place for people who experience, and are victims of, domestic abuse or domestic violence.

I acknowledged the Domestic Violence Act earlier. Does the Minister have plans to put in place a review of the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act so we can have a sense of how it is being implemented, particularly in regard to the area of training? Garda representative bodies highlighted the issue that many of their members did not feel adequately trained and in that context felt ill-equipped to implement the Act properly. If we could have a quick review of how that is going it would be of value. I take this opportunity to commend the many individuals, NGOs and civil society groups, such as the Irish Observatory on Violence Against Women, Women’s Aid, the National Women’s Council of Ireland, SAFE Ireland, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and all the other groups which advocated and continue to advocate for better policies, resources and legislation to combat domestic and sexual violence in Ireland. They have all called consistently for the ratification of this convention.

For a number of years the Women’s Aid "Change the Conversation" campaign has provided a stark and sobering reminder of how pervasive domestic violence and intimate partner violence are in Ireland. I will outline the extent of that from a variety of reports in recent years. One in five women in Ireland have experienced emotional, physical, sexual and-or financial abuse by a current or former partner. One in every two women murdered in Ireland are killed by a partner or ex-partner. In 2016, there were 16,946 disclosures of domestic violence against women during 19,000 contacts with Women’s Aid direct services. The Women’s Aid 24 hour help line responded to 15,952 calls in 2016. In a 2014 study, entitled "Violence against women: An EU-wide survey", by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights it was reported that 14% of women in Ireland have experienced physical violence by a partner since the age of 15 years. That gives an impression of how widespread and pervasive the problem still is. Tá sé forleathan, tá sé deimhin mar fhadhb, tá tionchar aige ar mhéid mhór mná agus páistí agus fiú tar éis na reachtaíochta seo, tá bóthar fada le taistil againn.

The Istanbul Convention is a Council of Europe convention on violence against women and domestic violence which was opened for signature on 11 May 2011. The convention's aims are prevention of violence, victim protection and to end the impunity of perpetrators in convention states. The full convention is contained in the Schedule. It is the obligation of the State to address it fully in all its forms and to take measures to prevent violence against women, protect its victims and prosecute the perpetrators. The convention leaves no doubt that there can be no real equality between women and men if women experience gender-based violence on a large scale and State agencies and institutions turn a blind eye, much like the Ireland of not so long ago. Implementing the convention is an opportunity for us to bring about the systemic and institutional change we need to facilitate the protection of women and the accountability of perpetrators. It is critical to match our response to the scale and complexity of the violence. Once Ireland ratifies the convention we will be examined for compliance with its standards and for that reason we must get our house in order.

I welcome the announcement last year that the CSO is to undertake the collection of data on the prevalence of sexual violence in the form of a sexual abuse and violence in Ireland, SAVI, Il report. It has been 16 years since the last SAVI report was conducted, which is far too long. Poor or outdated data have an impact on the development of policy. Data are very important to developing policy so this report should have been undertaken far sooner. I hope it is available as soon as possible. It is essential for forming an understanding of the problems we face, the prevalence of sexual violence in our society and what actions or policies are needed to address it. Fundamental to combatting this abuse will be the completion of the SAVI Il report providing updated research and data on sexual abuse and violence in Ireland.

Deputy O'Loughlin referred to the need for judges to have this legislation and the domestic violence legislation. I should highlight a point I have made frequently, which is inconsistent sentencing on the part of some judges in respect of sexual violence.

That matter needs to be addressed via sentencing guidelines. I have been in regular contact with the Department in that regard and hope that progress will soon be made. Such guidelines are vitally important in order for the public to be confident that we have consistent and good sentencing.

To conclude, ba mhaith liom a rá arís go dtacaíonn muid leis an mBille seo. Is dócha go mbeidh muid ag féachaint ar leasaithe ach gach seans nach mbeidh leasaithe ar an reachtaíocht seo. I go leor slite tá an reachtaíocht fada de bharr go bhfuil an coinbhinsiún ann ach tá sé simplí go leor i slite freisin. Tá sé luachmhar agus tábhachtach agus tá súil agam gur féidir linn é a chur i gcrích go luath agus go mbeidh sé mar chuid de dlí na Stát seo.

See this speech in context