Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for coming here for the debate. I welcome the Bill, subject to the amendments I have tabled and on which I will expand further on Committee Stage. I am pleased the Bill has come before the House so quickly because the limbo created by the result of the Supreme Court judgment needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. I reiterate that it is inappropriate to take all Stages together because the important issues raised by the Supreme Court must be carefully addressed.

I recognise the need for this type of legislation, which is very important for dealing with emergencies and protecting the vulnerable and those at risk. On the other hand, I agree with the finding of the Supreme Court. My experience as a solicitor is that this measure could be subject to abuse. It is very important to have fair procedures in place so that both sides of the case are heard, subject to some emergency provisions. There are huge consequences from the issuing of an interim barring order, particularly if the case is not heard very rapidly. Many knock-on consequences could affect other decisions made by the family law courts or criminal courts. Therefore, it would not be right to prolong the matter without having a fair hearing of the issues involved. I will table amendments dealing with a return date for the hearing and a provision for undertakings to be given to the court, an issue raised by the Supreme Court.

There should be a review of the whole family law area. Groups and individuals rightly raised the question of the need for men's rights to be addressed within the system. From my experience, I believe the system treats men unfairly and it treats women unfairly in other ways. It is important to ensure there are supports in place for families or individuals subjected to domestic violence.

The Eastern Regional Health Authority statistics for 1999 indicated that two out of three people who sought refuge with the health board were refused places in refuge centres. People who are violent need to be punished but they also need help. We need to help families in general and to bring about a less adversarial family law system. It is very important to have counselling programmes in place and to recognise that violence takes many forms. Older people and children can be subjected to domestic violence.