Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Coppinger and her colleagues on using their Private Members' time to table this extremely important motion. As the Deputy indicated, the Government will not oppose the motion. I assure her that is not a case of the Government saying to leave it in our hands. I am fully aware Government will not have all the answers on this issue. Many proposals have been put forward by the Deputy and her colleagues with which the Government agrees; some proposals are more challenging and I will outline them presently. This is such a significant and widespread problem that Government on its own will certainly not be able to resolve it. The issue of violence against women - and that is predominantly what we are talking about - is of such a pervasive nature that we need a response not just from the political system, but also from society as a whole. One of my functions as Minister for Justice is not just to try to change the law and policy, but also to try to give effect to societal changes in attitude. Women are predominantly the victims of this violence; consequently, men are predominantly the perpetrators of this violence. It is incumbent upon me as a male Minister for Justice to speak to men who think it is acceptable to perpetrate violence against women. We must repeatedly emphasise it is not acceptable.

I agree to a certain extent with Deputy Coppinger on the origins or provenance of this violence. A lot of it, like a lot of violence, is about trying to control individuals. For too long, some men have believed they are entitled to try to control women. That societal attitude needs to change.

I know the Deputy and her colleagues have been working with many survivors and victims of domestic and gender-based violence in order that their voices are heard. I welcome those victims and families of victims to the Gallery today. I commend them and I admire them for their bravery in coming forward and speaking out as they have done. It is important to point out that the voices of survivors are particularly loudly heard when they go through the courts process and it results in a conviction against the perpetrator of the appalling violence against them.

I note what Deputy Coppinger stated about the challenges posed by the courts system. I know it is challenging and we need to make it easier but the voices of those who go through the courts system and obtain a conviction at the end of it are very loud and influential. These women remind us that, although we have made improvements, reformed our laws and strengthened support structures, we have much further to go in the journey to seek justice.

As I said, we will not oppose the motion. We are not yet where we want and need to be. A society where there is zero tolerance for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is our objective.

The statistics in this area are frightening. Deputy Healy referred to the CSO statistics in its survey of sexual violence published in 2022. It is simply unacceptable that more than half of the women in this country have experienced sexual violence in childhood or adulthood. I am pleased the CSO, along with Cuan, is now doing a survey on domestic violence. We need further information on that. We cannot adequately respond to this or any problem unless we have the necessary data. I regret that I have no doubt the figures will reflect the reality that far too many people are living with domestic violence. To deal with it, we need to know the data in respect of it.

I will outline what the Government has done in respect of some issues raised in the motion. Deputy Coppinger focused on disclosure of counselling notes. I was a Member of Dáil Éireann in 2017, as she was, when we dealt with the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill that went through the Houses then. Section 33 provided for the inclusion of a new section 19A. All of us thought at that time this provision would deal with that issue. I read section 19A earlier. On paper, it looks like it covers all the important issues. It states counselling notes shall not be disclosed unless it is necessary for a fair trail. Unfortunately, section 19A is not operating the way the Oireachtas intended. That point was made by Professor Tom O'Malley in his review of the legislation in this area. He said people are not aware of it. I am committed to reviewing it. If we need to have legislation to amend it, I will bring forward the legislation.

Deputy Coppinger also mentioned Valerie's law. I have already instructed my Department that I want legislation to be brought through amending the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 in order that a court can remove guardianship rights from parents or guardians who kill or seriously harm another parent or guardian of their child. I hope to have a memorandum going to Government next month to get permission from Government to proceed with drafting that. The heads of Bill are being prepared in my Department as well.

The domestic violence register is something I am committing to establish. It is important that if somebody is convicted of a serious criminal offence by the courts, the public should be aware of that. In this country we publish lists of tax offenders but we do not publish a list of people convicted of rape or serious sexual assault. The only way we know about that is if a journalist happens to be in court or if, as many brave victims have done, the victim decides subsequently to go public in respect of it. It is unfair to expect every victim to carry that burden and to decide to waive their anonymity because they want to disclose the identity of the individual.

That is too much for them and we need to have a system in place where there is disclosure of information of people who have been convicted of serious offences. I talk about that in respect of convictions only.

The Government also recognises the need to build on the legislative and structural reforms under way to further enhance support for victims of gender-based violence. We have seen sentences increased. We have seen the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024 signed into law last year, which expands a victim's right to legal representation in circumstances.

Deputy Coppinger referred to the character reference issue. At present, the law is that if someone is going to give a character reference, it has to be under oath or an affidavit and he or she can be subject to cross-examination. In terms of the woman the Deputy mentioned, Sarah, she should be told who has put in a character reference in respect of the person who had been convicted of the offence against her. Character references only arise in the imposition of a sentence. I will consider it, but we need to be aware. Will we do away with character references across the board and for all offences? It would be difficult to say we will get rid of character references in respect of persons who are convicted of certain offences but for other serious offences we would permit them. It is an area we need to reflect on.

There is a lot of reform happening in the family justice area. A central element to this is the establishment of dedicated family courts with specialist judges assigned on a full-time basis. It is important that our family law system operates much more effectively. Regrettably, a lot of the violence we see perpetrated against women is violence that comes from persons with whom they are in a relationship within the family. The Courts Service is progressing an ambitious ten year modernisation programme to deliver an operating model that is digitally enabled and designed around the user. That is something that will improve it.

The Deputy also mentioned the issue of making complaints against the Judiciary. Complaints can be made against the Judiciary within the Judicial Council framework. There is also a constitutional mechanism and legislation in place for the severe purpose of trying to remove a judge from office. We have to be careful that we protect the independence of the Judiciary. The last thing we want is for decisions of judges to be subject to review by this House or people this House decides to appoint to some statutory body. We went through a difficult circumstance in establishing the Judicial Council so that it would retain its independence. It can examine the conduct of a judge in cases where judicial misconduct is alleged.

The Deputy also called in the motion for education programmes to challenge misogyny and gender-based violence. A substantial body of work is under way with Cuan at the core of its efforts. Educational and awareness-raising campaigns have covered the issues of sexual consent, domestic abuse and intimate image abuse. Building on the momentum of those campaigns, Cuan is launching a campaign called Hardest Stories. It will be launched today at 11 a.m. and I hope Deputy Coppinger will forgive me, but I will go down and launch that campaign by Cuan. The launch is at 11 o'clock so regrettably, I will have to leave here at 10:40. The Minister of State, Deputy Collins, will be here for the rest of the debate.

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