Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and commend Senator Quinn on introducing the legislation before Members today. The Minister for Justice and Equality come into the House recently to respond to a Commencement matter I raised in respect of domestic violence legislation and this is the ultimate end of the domestic violence crime. The Minister has given me a commitment that before the end of this year, she will bring forward comprehensive legislation to bring together eight Acts to compound the legislation in order that the crime of domestic violence will be a crime and that those who commit it will be punished properly. On dealing with pieces of the legislation, I understand the sentiment and agree with it 100%, although the Attorney General has a different opinion as to whether it would hold up in court to constitutional challenge. However, I believe firmly that the issue of domestic violence must be dealt with in its entirety this year and the Minister has committed to that. It is not just one legislative item that must change, unfortunately, as a whole raft of legislation is involved. The Minister will bring together eight Acts in this regard.

Obviously, this is very difficult for the families involved and this undoubtedly affects real people. Last week, I listened to a case in which a man was found guilty of manslaughter. I will not name anybody but he invited his former wife up to the bedroom, telling her he was going to shoot himself, but he shot her with a sawn-off shotgun. He was convicted, not of what was absolute cold-blooded murder but of manslaughter. I am unsure of the difference between murder and manslaughter as to me, that is absolute murder. Again, this is the ultimate horrible end to savage domestic violence, where someone actually is murdered. My views in this regard are clearly known and I already have stated on the record a number of times where I have come from.I sincerely hope that by the end of the year we will bring forward legislation including this proposal. We need to close all the doors so that people who commit these horrible crimes do not get rewarded. Unfortunately, in this case the Attorney General has a view that this may not hold up constitutionally. However, I support the sentiment and the absolute view that no one should be rewarded for a horrible crime that has ravaged our country. There is no specific legislation to deal with it. I have put forward many proposals to the Minister and I hope that we will deal with the crime of domestic violence in 2015, with those who commit it punished properly. The perpetrator is the very last person who should be rewarded in any way. That is where we go wrong. The victims tend to be the ones who suffer.