Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make three brief points. I am concerned to hear the Minister extolling the virtues of broadness in this context because that is the precise difficulty. Judicial discretion at present is so unstructured and we have a real problem with inconsistency and divergence of practice. This is a problem identified, as the Minister of State has heard, not only by NGOs such as Safe Ireland, which works with survivors and victims on the front line, but as long ago as 1999 by the Law Society. I have quoted their concern expressed then that there was considerable divergence among District Court judges in the exercise of their discretion. There is a real concern and the idea of introducing a form of statutory guidance is precisely the way to deal with that and to deal with broadness. One does not lose the divergence.

Senator Norris has referred to his formula in amendment No. 3, but all the amendments include the phrase that the court shall have regard to "any other matter which appears to the court to be relevant to the safety and welfare of the applicant and any dependants". The Law Society has recommended "any circumstance which might increase the applicant's or dependant's vulnerability to violence". There are a number of ways one can keep the merit of a broad approach, including a reference to any other matter which appears relevant to the court. That is important, but it is included already in any one of the amendments that we have put forward. That guards against the problem the Minister of State has identified of narrowing the criteria or making the guidance too restrictive.

The third observation I would make is that when I practised in the area briefly some years ago in Dolphin House, the physical setting where these matters were dealt with in Dublin was desperately inadequate and remained so.I was delighted to hear the Tánaiste speak on Second Stage about the new courts complex which is coming on stream at Hammond Lane. There are great plans for that which will really improve the physical venue where many of the domestic violence applications, certainly those in central Dublin, are made. It would be a shame if we were to improve the physical environment and yet retain so much discretion for judges that applicants coming forward would still be faced with ongoing uncertainty as to whether their applications will be granted or what the criteria are. It is a real problem that we are still faced with this divergence in practice which was identified long ago.