Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Many of us have been in contact with Barnardos, the people who are dealing with this situation. Their first concern is that children are often the hidden victims of domestic abuse. It is crucial that this is part of the Bill. They are trying to help and save the child. They seek to ensure that the damage caused by the exposure of children to domestic abuse is recognised by ensuring risk assessment is undertaken by experts available to the court in respect of the granting of barring orders. These must be included for children.

Barnardos seeks the establishment of a network of child contact centres across the country to facilitate court ordered supervision of access visits. These matters must be included in the Bill because it involves children. It is crucial to consider extending the duration of emergency barring orders to at least six months. Consider the statistics. There was a major report in my local newspaper stating that there has been a big increase in the number of women fleeing domestic violence. Its incidence is increasing so we must ensure that this Bill is passed.

I brought my concerns to the previous Minister and she was going to deal with them. The biggest concern is awareness. There must be an awareness campaign to show what women and children are going through. There is no such campaign. I accept that all of the amendments must be discussed but we must push this Bill through urgently. When it is passed we must ensure there is a large awareness campaign for the women and children of Ireland who are going through this violence. Almost one in four Irish women experience some type of physical violence but what is frightening is that 70% of Irish women, which is top of the European table, do not contact any services or organisations, including the police, following the most serious incidents of violence. That is worrying. It is one of the biggest issues for this Bill. We must ensure there is a big awareness campaign and that we help women and children who are violently abused.