Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the issue of domestic violence in this House. I am conscious of his interest in this issue and of his contribution to the report last October of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on domestic and sexual violence.

The Government is committed to the introduction of consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation to address all aspects of domestic violence, threatened violence and intimidation in a way that provides protection to victims. In addition, the heads of the sexual offences Bill was published recently. The draft general scheme of the legislation is being finalised in my Department. It is intended to introduce approximately eight new sections to strengthen the legislation. We are consolidating the legislation to date. It is important that we would have one consolidated piece of legislation rather than the various Acts introduced in the past. My intention is that the draft general scheme will be considered by Government shortly after Easter. Following approval by the Government of the general scheme of the Bill, I will forward it to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality for pre-legislative scrutiny. That will give an opportunity for further consultation with stakeholders on the Bill, following on from their inputs into the joint committee's hearings on domestic and sexual violence in February 2014. My aim is that the Bill will be enacted this year.

I contributed to a debate in Dáil Éireann in December last year where I said that "domestic violence does not go away". While domestic violence does not go away completely, I agree with the Senator that we can and must do more to assist those affected by it, and to punish those inflicting the pain and misery associated with it. I believe we have a good structural base with which to work and that we can improve it with the proposed legislation. The Istanbul Convention will also provide for the highest standards to be met in addressing domestic violence. I am pleased to inform the Senator that I have now received a response from every Department on the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, which means that we now have the summary proposals from Departments, which allow us to go ahead and sign the convention in the first place and then to publish an action plan towards ratification. I intend to bring proposals to Government for approval to sign the convention early this year.

In tackling the difficult issue of domestic violence, legislation can provide a framework for victims and An Garda Síochána, but as the Senator said, that must be complemented by operational policing on the ground. The Garda Commissioner has announced plans to develop a system of risk assessment for victims of domestic violence who come to the attention of An Garda Síochána. That is very important, in particular following on from the Garda Inspectorate report where a number of very serious issues were identified in terms of the investigation of domestic violence and domestic abuse. The Garda Commissioner has announced a series of initiatives on the reorganisation of how child protection and sexual and domestic violence are dealt with by An Garda Síochána. That will also help to deal more effectively with reports of domestic violence and domestic abuse, as well as the decision to allocate two officers in every division with responsibility for victims. That is an extremely good initiative.

There are many cases of members of An Garda Síochána extending themselves above and beyond the call of duty to assist victims of domestic violence. That is acknowledged by all. There has been a sea change within An Garda Síochána on the issue but more remains to be done. That has been acknowledged both as a result of the findings of the Garda Inspectorate report but also the actions taken by the Garda Commissioner, which indicate the seriousness with which the issue is now being taken. Incidents of domestic violence are not always straightforward. A risk assessment system, which is tuned to the realities of operational policing, can help An Garda Síochána better protect victims from more serious revictimisation in the future.I thank the Senator for raising the issue.