Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is not the first occasion on which he has attended to debate this topic and those of us who have followed the work he has done in this area will acknowledge that he has made a tremendous commitment in terms of resources and effective action.

Domestic violence, as the Minister of State said, is one of the hidden crimes in society and some of our statistics are quite alarming. The National Crime Council, in association with the Economic and Social Research Institute, has found that 29% of women and 26% of men suffer domestic abuse. Some 13% of women and 13% of men suffer physical abuse, with 29% of women and only 5% of men reporting the abuse to the Garda. What has been highlighted here is the number of men who are in relationships that are violent and in which they suffer abuse. We have long recognised, because of the physical differences between males and females, that females have been the victims of violence in relationships over the years.

The figures show that in excess of 300,000 people are directly affected. That figure probably can be doubled, which amounts to approximately 15% of the population, given that most of the couples will have children and that the normal sized family consists of two children. Of course, the effects on children, both short-term and long-term, can be extremely negative.

It is not dealt with in the reports and has not yet been mentioned in the debate today but such relationships are often indicative of a behavioural disorder in one of the partners. This is something that obviously requires treatment. While the emphasis on bringing the perpetrators to justice is obviously essential, I would reverse the mechanisms outlined by the Minister. I accept the Minister has taken steps to create greater awareness of this problem in society. The third aim outlined by the Minister was to stamp out the dreadful crime by creating awareness among people of all ages and by changing the culture of anger and violence which can infiltrate intimate partnership relationships.

In that regard, it is essential that State services and the voluntary sector are encouraged to assist families to overcome difficulties. I am aware of cases where safety or barring orders were imposed, depending on the advice received by the individuals concerned, which led to the breakdown of the relationship. In irreconcilable cases that is inevitable but I have also seen instances where people were forced to confront the problem they had with being violent or abusive within the relationship. They recognised the problem, returned to the marriage or relationship and subsequently the relationships were saved and went on to become close and good relationships.

Obviously, in headline cases where severe physical violence is imposed on individuals — in some instances, murder has been committed — there is a need to protect the victim. On the other hand, however, in certain instances appropriate intervention by State services can resolve the difficulties being experienced and can lay the foundation for the couple to enjoy a good, stable and loving relationship subsequently. That should be a strong priority in our intervention mechanisms.

Only a small proportion of domestic violence cases is brought to the attention of the Garda. This demonstrates the need to create awareness through education. Our education system should reflect the need for people to develop harmonious relationships and point out that anything that runs counter to that not only affects the fulfilment of the two individuals concerned but also their children. It can have damaging lifetime implications for those children.

In conclusion, I echo the Minister's comment that he wishes to make the criminal justice and other response systems work together in a better way. That should be the objective and the Minister is committed to achieving it. In doing that we will hopefully see a reduction in the statistics before us today.