Mal O'Hara (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I, too, commend the Bill. My colleague's impassioned plea at the end of his contribution suggests the scale of how we need to shift culture. I will talk a little about that. In 2023, more than 40,000 disclosures of abuse were made to Women's Aid, of which 35,000 concerned abuse against women and almost 5,000 concerned abuse against children. That is a marked increase of 18% from 2022. In 2022, An Garda Síochána received 53,737 calls to respond to domestic abuse incidents, a 9% increase. In the same year, 23,536 applications were made to the District Court under the domestic violence legislation, an increase of 4% from the previous year. Some might posit that this increase was because there was more domestic violence, while the other side might be that people are becoming more confident that they can report and will get safety and justice.

I note in the earlier debate on assisted human reproduction that the Minister spoke about improvements for women. We must focus on domestic violence as gender-based violence which disproportionately impacts on women, with the caveat that, yes, men experience it as well. The Government is committed to changing the outcomes and improving the quality of life for women, and this Bill is another opportunity to do that.

I am conscious, as we debate this, of a well-known fact, particularly pertaining to the UK, from where my data occasionally comes. The European football championship is on. We know that in Scotland when "Old Firm" games take place between Celtic and Rangers, domestic violence incidents increase. We also know there is a surge during the World Cup and European championships. That is UK evidence and I suggest that, given our very similar cultures, the position is the same in Ireland and that women, disproportionately, are experiencing domestic violence in this period of time.We are also conscious of the disproportionate impact on other minority groups such as ethnic minorities, the Traveller community and LGBT communities. The increase in reporting is about how we better support those organisations to reach hard-to-reach vulnerable groups and encourage them to engage with the apparatus of the State, the police, courts and other social supports to enable them to report and get the safety, support and justice they need.

My colleague, Senator Martin, has brought forward a number of Bills in this regard. There are opportunities to improve it but I will single in on a particular quote from solicitor Keith Walsh, co-author with Sonya Dixon of the new book, Domestic Violence: Law and Practice in Ireland.:

This Bill, if enacted, will remove more obstacles for victims of coercive control to come forward and report crimes to An Garda Síochána, it re-examines and restructures an important part of the criminal process from the viewpoint of a victim of coercive control while balancing the rights of the alleged perpetrator. It seems very likely to be a very practical amendment to the Domestic Violence Act and is yet another example of the low-key but very effective work done by Senator Vincent P. Martin and his senatorial colleagues in overhauling the Domestic Violence Act 2018, piece by piece. All those involved at the coalface in the family justice system owe them a continuing debt of gratitude.

I commend this Bill to the House.