Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I speak about the horrific murder of Clodagh Hawe and her three sons, Liam, Niall and Ryan. Last night's documentary on "Claire Byrne Live" was a great public service.RTÉ should be proud of it. It gave a voice to Clodagh, her sons and the Hawe family that had been missing for a long time since their deaths in August 2016. Mary and Jacqueline, Clodagh's mother and sister, gave a great account of her and her three children. It made the brutal description of their murders even more harrowing. They also painted a picture of control and abuse within the family home. Control and abuse are often not apparent when they do not involve physical violence. Mary and Jacqueline were clear that until the night of the murders, there had been no physical violence within the home, but there was within it Alan Hawe who controlled Clodagh and the boys with a silent and menacing presence in their lives. It is interesting to note that Clodagh met Alan Hawe when she was just 17 years old in college. They married two and a half years later and there were signs from the beginning that it was a controlling relationship. The Women's Aid campaign under way to help young women to spot the signs of controlling and abusive relationships early in relationships is very important in this context.

Alan Hawe left a letter that he had written after murdering Clodagh and before going upstairs to murder the boys who were asleep. He said in the letter that he was too important for his family to live without him and that he was going to be exposed for something awful that had occurred. We believe it was in his workplace, but the family do not have further details in that regard. It is clear that they want basic information. They want to know what happened and when. The Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister for Education and Skills must meet Mary and Jacqueline to discuss the matter with them. There must be an independent inquiry into the deaths. It is only by examining cases such as this that we will be able to prevent similar cases from happening in the future.

Often abuse is ignored by women because they do not have alternative accommodation. We must examine the provision of shelters for women and children who need to leave abusive relationships because sometimes the signs of abuse are overlooked until something catastrophic happens when it is too late. Ireland started to collect data just over 20 years ago for the numbers of women killed by men. An average of ten are killed every year and often they are killed in their home by a man with whom they have been or are in a relationship. In that period 16 children died alongside their mothers. This is a live issue and we should have an independent inquiry. We must also receive some information on the domestic homicide review that was promised after the murders. Perhaps the Leader might update us on the issue.

The Civil Liability (Amendment) (Prevention of Benefits from Homicide) Bill introduced by Deputy O'Callaghan in the Dáil should be pressed forward by the Government. It was passed on Second Stage, but it has gone to the place where all such Bills go to die. The debate on it should be resumed. After Alan Hawe had murdered his family, he went online and transferred money from joint accounts into his own account. That has consequences for how the estate will be distributed. Out of respect for Clodagh and her boys, we should act on this issue, not just wring our hands.