David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This amendment arose out of our debates last time. It is an important amendment. I have tabled the amendment taking account of the concerns raised by Senators regarding sentences where violent offences are committed against a person's spouse, civil partner or person with whom he or she is in an intimate and committed relationship.

The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that where offences involving physical or sexual violence are committed in a domestic violence setting, that fact shall be an aggravating factor at sentencing. The relationship is key in this regard.

The list of relevant offences in the provision includes already long-established offences of violence and sexual violence. Non-fatal physical violence is captured by offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, including assault, assault causing harm, causing serious harm, threats to kill, coercion, harassment, endangerment and false imprisonment. Sexual offences, including sexual assault and rape, are relevant in domestic violence situations as well.

I hope that the proposed amendment to provide for aggravating factors in sentencing for offences committed in a domestic violence context will address the concerns expressed by Senators on the effects of such behaviour.

I am aware that the Femicide Watch report of 2017, recently published by Women's Aid, reports that data on the Irish criminal justice system suggest the system is less severe for men accused of killing their current or former partners than it is for men accused of killing other persons. Women's Aid has recommended that when offences, including physical violence, violence resulting in death, psychological and sexual violence and stalking, are carried out by a current or former partner or spouse, then the intimate relationship should be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing. This would acknowledge the unique position the offender was in, including the fact that the offender had intimate knowledge of and access to the victim and so brutally betrayed that trust.

The new sentencing provision will apply to any offence that involves violence or the threat of violence to a person. The amendment covers manslaughter, harassment and coercion. It will ensure that aggravated sentencing will apply where a person is convicted of the manslaughter of his or her current or former partner or spouse. The amendment will not affect sentencing for the offence of murder because a conviction for murder carries a mandatory life sentence.