Dáil debates

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2019: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

8:50 pm

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

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí O'Callaghan agus O'Loughlin as an reachtaíocht seo a thabhairt os ár gcomhair. Beidh Sinn Féin ag tacú leis. Tá sé tábhachtach. Is ábhar é atá sa nuacht faoi láthair de bharr cásanna áirithe tragóideacha uafásacha. Tá gá le cur chuige cosúil leis an gceann atá molta ag an Teachta O'Callaghan, b'fhéidir le roinnt bheag leasuithe.

We will be supporting this legislation. In February this year my colleague, the Sinn Féin president, Deputy McDonald, asked the Minister if he would consider introducing legislation to provide for domestic homicide reviews similar to those in place in England and Wales under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crimes and Victims Act. At that time, the Minister stated he had no plans to amend the law but that the matter would be kept under review. Following a meeting with the family of Clodagh Hawe later that month, the Minister announced his intention to commission a study into the supports available to families affected by familial homicide and the experience of domestic homicide reviews in other jurisdictions. That was clearly welcome. Clodagh's sister, Jacqueline Connolly, and her mother, Mary Coll, should not have had to take to the national airwaves to make their voices heard but often that is the way things work. It is a fundamental human rights principle that those affected by policies implemented by Government must be given a voice in the development of those policies.

The right of women and children to be protected against domestic violence and death is underpinned by various instruments of international law, including the Istanbul Convention. If the Government is truly committed to the provisions of the convention, then it must create a space for victims and their families to inform and shape policies, legislation and adequate budgets. Before we consider our own views of the appropriate framework for the introduction of multi-agency domestic homicide reviews, we should first listen to the families affected by this horrific crime.

I had the opportunity recently to meet Kathleen Chada and some other people who have been bereaved in the most appalling way. It is so difficult for a person who has never been affected by this to even begin to imagine the horror that must be involved and how it must follow those affected every day. Lives are changed forever.

One of the groups I met was Sentencing And Victims Equality, SAVE, an advocacy group established by families affected by domestic homicide.

We are particularly focused on the 27 cases of familial homicide in recent times. While they are closely or inextricably linked, there is a wider context of domestic homicide generally. There have been 225 such cases since 1996. Nine in ten murdered women are murdered by someone who knows them. Half are killed by a current or former partner. Some 61% are killed in their own homes. We have a serious problem in this regard, although the problem is not only in Ireland. It is something that we must attempt to understand to properly deal with in a policy way. That is clearly what this policy proposal is about.

SAVE has been calling for the introduction of domestic homicide reviews similar to those in place in Britain. The following is their demand of us:

We all have many questions around the circumstances of the murder of our loved ones. Many of these questions may never be answered but knowing that someone may have some of these answers but chose not to tell us just adds to what is already an incredibly difficult time. To think that there is information relevant to our loved ones being kept from us is difficult to comprehend. It adds to our pain. We believe the introduction of domestic homicide reviews would show that at a government level the needs of victims and their families are on a par with the needs of the perpetrators. Such reviews must be under the guise of a completely independent body that can work on a multiagency basis, independent of present state bodies.

As the families of victims of domestic violence, we are often not looking to blame. We trust the judicial process will take care of that. But we will often be left with questions that cannot be answered by the Garda or the coroner. The answers we seek may not seem relevant to a potential court case or inquest, but would bring a level of comfort to us. Domestic homicide reviews place the victim at the centre of the process, at a time when it can often feel that they have been shunted to the side lines. Trust in the judicial system can often be shaken for us, so knowing there is a state body whose sole agenda is to simply get answers would be welcomed by us.

Like SAVE, Safe Ireland, Women's Aid, the National Observatory on Violence Against Women, the National Women's Council of Ireland and other front-line service providers have all called for the introduction of multi-agency reviews. This statutory model of review has been operational in England and Wales since 2011 and is due to be introduced in the North shortly. The family violence death review committee was established in New Zealand in 2008. Again, this body is underpinned in legislation. A number of Canadian provinces also have statutory and non-statutory systems of domestic review in place.

Earlier this month Deputy McDonald and I produced a policy paper committing Sinn Féin to the introduction of an independent multi-agency domestic homicide review model. I believe I sent a copy of that document to the Department. If I did not, I will do so shortly. As with the British model, reviews would be automatically established on a regional basis following a domestic or familial homicide. Currently, reviews must be initiated by the Garda Commissioner and are limited to the examination of the adequacy of Garda policies, their interactions with other external agencies and with the individuals and family concerned. Our model of review includes all relevant State agencies, for example Tusla and the HSE, domestic violence service providers, families of the victims and their friends and work colleagues.

There is another element and I hope the Minister's process takes this into account. Often in these processes, data sharing can be used as a form of obstruction or a reason not to proceed with sharing of information and experience and knowledge. Obviously there is legislation governing all of this. We believe there is a need for a specific element of the review to examine whether there is need for change in legislation or policy to ensure that domestic homicide reviews can be as effective as possible and that all the information that it is possible to share can be shared. This could allow families to benefit from the information being shared by the review.

The system of review we are advocating, and that this Bill advocates, is not a replacement for a criminal investigation or an inquest and would not seek to apportion blame. Independent multiagency domestic or familial homicide reviews provide invaluable data and information on the circumstances leading up to the crime and how agencies can improve responses to better protect women from future attacks. The Office of the Chief Coroner in Ontario, Canada, has had a multidisciplinary death review committee in place since 2003.

The motto of the office is "we speak for the dead to protect the living". This process advances policy development, operational practice and inter-agency co-operation. It also provides a neutral independent process for victims’ families to participate in which can provide them with the answers they need. This will require legislation and a budget line to shape the review process, provide for inter-agency data sharing, and deliver the regional framework and accompanying staff. This legislation must first be informed by the families impacted by domestic homicide, victims of domestic abuse and violence and the organisations that advocate on their behalf. We will support this legislation and we welcome its introduction. As the Deputy has acknowledged, he will ultimately need the Government's imprimatur if the legislation is to fully come to life and to reflect the British domestic homicide review model. If the purpose of this legislation is, as the Deputy has stated, to replicate what is permissible in Britain, there will need to be an organisational framework and staffing required to deliver properly on this commitment. In effect, this will mean the legislation would be a money Bill. I hope the Minister will row in behind this Bill to ensure it is everything it can be.

Under the British legislation reviews are commissioned by community safety partnerships following the domestic homicide of a person aged 16 years or over. These multi-agency structures are established in each local government area. A fundamental pillar of the British model is that it is independent. Local review panels include an independent chair and representatives from statutory and voluntary agencies. Family, friends and work colleagues are also encouraged to participate in the review. Reviews are not automatically established after a domestic homicide in the Fianna Fáil Bill, as we would like them to be. The legislation keeps the process of review tightly within the gift of the Garda Commissioner or the Minister for Justice and Equality. It provides that the Minister may direct the Garda Commissioner and other agencies, such as the HSE or Probation Service, to co-operate with or participate in the review. Under this proposal the Minister is again directing the review process. Families can make a submission or provide information to the review but cannot engage in the review process itself. A reviewer appointed by the Minister or the Garda Commissioner may seek information or documentation from a person or legal entity. Non-statutory organisations such as Women’s Aid or Safe Ireland can only contribute to the process if the reviewer seeks information from them. As Deputy O’Callaghan stated in the Dáil last month, his legislation will require the resources and involvement of the Department of Justice and Equality if it is to progress. As there is an arrangement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, I hope the Deputy has secured some form of agreement with the Minister and that we will see some progress. I appreciate the amendment. I would personally rather proceed to Committee Stage as soon as possible, but that is within the gift of the sponsor of the Bill.

The Minister’s establishment of independent study on familicide and domestic homicide reviews in respect of supports for families and to examine practices in other jurisdictions is welcome, although its completion date of June 2020 is a while off. I appreciate the need to get it right, but there is an appetite and an interest in this area, so I would rather that was progressed quicker. Families of domestic homicide victims want the issue of additional funding supports to be placed front and centre. Support services are woefully inadequate and the lack of multi-annual funding streams negatively impacts on non-statutory services' ability to develop appropriate supports for them.

I take the opportunity to pay tribute to those families I have met who have lived with the pain of losing their loved ones, whether it be a daughter, a sister, a son, a husband or a wife, including Jacqueline Connolly, Mary Coll, Kathleen Chada and so many others. We owe them a debt because despite their enormous grief, deep hurt and pain, they are active in this area, seeking legislative change and lobbying both Opposition politicians and the Government to force the political system to step up to its responsibilities and to legislate. There is an epidemic of domestic violence in Ireland and many other countries, yet the Government has not adequately prioritised the protection of women and children in that regard. Women and children are being murdered in their homes by men known to them. Thousands more are living with abuse, sexual assault and violence every day. Our actions in this House can and must reflect this grim reality. There has been progress such as the Domestic Violence Act 2018, but in some respects we are still catching up with what has been in place in other jurisdictions for a decade or more. There is a broad consensus on the need for and value of independent multi-agency domestic homicide reviews. I hope can progress to becoming policy and that that consensus will give comfort to the families affected and be of value to women living with a violent partner today. If we can advance this model of review with ambition and determination, it can be used to apply lessons, change policies and ensure this violence and murders are minimised.

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