Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and promise him to try not to use the same lines as everybody else. Everybody is in agreement that this amendment to the legislation is necessary. The Supreme Court judgment implied strongly that the rights of all parties must be taken into consideration and I agree. As a woman – although I do not want to create a line – I feel we must talk only about violence, whether it is perpetrated against men or women. That is why I am here. We are trying to discover how best to eliminate the violence that is out there. This is a timely issue. Nobody is saying that the legislation was not useful and I congratulate the former Government and Taoiseach on it, as well as the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Wallace, who, with her interest in eliminating violence, spearheaded this legislation. We can have all the legislation in the world, but how can we be sure it will be effective on the ground? That is the fundamental question facing all of us. How do we know that violence is not taking place in some household at a particular point in time? How can we as a society face up to this serious problem?

People have asked why domestic violence happens. Somebody once told me it was because we need to feel power and control and for some people, the only way to feel this is by beating and bullying. They feel they can only keep control and hold power if they adopt this approach. Domestic violence affects all social classes in all regions. Quality of life is destroyed for many families. The impact on children is very significant. In my former career I came across domestic violence many times. One would notice the children coming into school suffering from the effects of the night before. It affected their progress, demeanour and discipline, but they could not themselves identify what was wrong.