Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am very supportive of this Bill, by and large, but I wish to raise one major issue. It pertains to forcing survivors of domestic violence to obtain the consent of their abusers. I know the Minister of State is aware of the point, as I followed the debate in the Dáil. The current process forces survivors of domestic violence to obtain their abusers' consent to file complaints about jointly held financial products. The data we have on domestic violence show specifically that in 2024 there were 65,000 incidences of domestic violence reported to the Garda. Women's Aid states that in 2023, 78% of coercive control cases involved financial abuse. Safe Ireland's finding was that survivors face an average lifetime cost from abuse of €100,000. What this means is that, in its current form, the Bill very much excludes the needs of vulnerable survivors of domestic violence. We have data from women's rights organisations that clearly highlight that financial abuse is often used as a weapon and it traps victims into cycles of control and fear. In its current form, the Bill obliges survivors to obtain their abuser's consent to challenge fraudulent debts or coercive financial arrangements. I know everyone in this Chamber will agree that is morally wrong. The legal barrier within the Bill leaves survivors to choose between financial ruin or continued abuse.

While I welcome the expansion of definitions, I note the omission of the Domestic Violence Act 2018. I would like us to consider adding that financial abuse means behaviour constituting coercive control under the Domestic Violence Act, including unauthorised use of joint accounts or coercive financial agreements. This addition would create a statutory basis for recognising abuse patterns in FSPO decisions.