Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to address this all-important issue and Senator Martin and the Green Party for bringing forward this all-important Bill. I am very aware of the amount of work the Minister has done in this area. I know that a lot has been done and that the Minister intends doing more as part of the programme for Government. The issue of domestic violence is a serious one. It affects more victims than many believe. One in four women in Ireland in a relationship have been abused by a current or former partner, which is a stark finding. Since 1996, 266 women have died violently. A total of 63% were killed in their own homes, 55% were killed by a partner or ex-partner and almost nine in ten women knew their killer. Those statistics are really frightening. According to the "One in Five" report from Women's Aid on intimate relationship abuse against young women, one in five young women have been subjected to intimate relationship abuse with 51% of young women affected experiencing the abuse when they were under the age of 18. That this occurred at such a young age is really stark.

Domestic violence stems from cultural beliefs that controlling and violating a partner is acceptable, and I know the Minister has done a lot of work about this area; personality disorders or psychological disorders on the part of the abuser; and learned behaviour from growing up in a family where domestic violence was acceptable. Education has been highlighted as being crucial in phasing out beliefs and systems that violate the dignity of victims of domestic violence. I support calls for more education on domestic violence.

Could the roll-out of the third national strategy be escalated? I know a lot of work has been done on it. Could an awareness campaign and an education and training campaign be rolled out in our schools? Senator Flynn referred to refuges. My area in Limerick has two refuges. We were ahead of the curve in that we have ADAPT House, which celebrated 50 years last year, and Thomond House. I pay tribute to the staff who work there for the support they give to people. Some people are there short term but others are there longer term. People have gone there, gone through a support programme, come out the other side and gone back to normal life with the supports. These two refuges do things very well.

I have previously discussed the courts system and domestic violence with the Minister. I have met representatives of the Rape Crisis Centre in Limerick in the past.A big issue is that people suffering domestic violence in Limerick must go to the court system in Dublin. If they could access courts locally they could go home to sleep in their own beds and they would have family support at home. When they go to Dublin they could end up staying in the same hotel as the perpetrator. They end up having no family or support with them in court, as has been highlighted. If they are within or near their own environment then at least when they walk out the door they know family members are there to support them and be with them. It is very important that we look to using our local court services as much as possible, especially for people who have been subject to domestic violence and other issues.

It would be remiss of me not to commend Natasha who was here yesterday. I certainly condemn what happened to her. Nobody could support what happened to her. I commend her bravery in coming forward to speak of her experience and encouraging other women to come forward. It is very important that we support and encourage women to come forward, especially women subjected to issues such as domestic violence or coercive control. I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say. I know she has done an awful lot in terms of doubling the sentencing from five years to ten years and with regard to cross-examining witnesses giving character references. A lot has been done and I know the Minister has other ideas and I look forward to hearing them. I commend the Green Party on tabling the motion.