Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Stephenson for her work on this Bill and Senator Ryan for her amendment and sharing her personal experiences and insights. I thank all Members for their contributions.

On the proposed amendment, while I acknowledge it is Senator Stephenson's Bill, the proposed amendment is accepted. Legal advice will, of course, be required to allow for due consideration. It is also important to emphasise that the conduct of any court case is a matter entirely for the presiding judge. The courts are subject only to the Constitution and law, independent in their exercise of their judicial functions, including sentencing.

More generally, section 1 seeks to amend section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 to make provision for an indictable offence under that section. It will make the breach of a domestic violence order, namely, safety orders, barring orders, protection orders, interim barring orders and emergency banning orders a hybrid offence that could be triable summarily or on indictment, with a maximum penalty on indictment of five years' imprisonment. Currently, the penalty for the offence is a class B fine set at a maximum of €4,000, one year imprisonment or both on summary conviction.

While acknowledging the positive intention of the section, there are some challenges and possible unintended consequences to making this amendment to the Domestic Violence Act. It is also worth highlighting that these are challenges that have arisen on previous occasions, in particular when the Act was put in place. This is not the first time this issue has been considered.

As I mentioned, section 33 covers a breach of multiple different types of domestic violence orders. These orders are very different and detailed, with finely balanced statutory provisions governing how they are granted. Making a breach of all domestic violence orders a possible serious offence means that it might become harder to successfully persuade a court to grant any of them. Respondents would be expected to contest the case in a more rigorous manner. In the interests of justice, a court might, in certain circumstances, be less inclined to grant orders.

Particular concerns relate to barring orders, emergency banning orders and protection orders, that is, those which can be granted ex parte, namely where only one applicant has to be present or heard in court and outside of the usual court sittings. Of course, the whole point of getting a domestic violence or barring order at weekends, quickly or perhaps with only a victim present is that it can be accessed as quickly as possible. By putting a higher bar in place, there is a potential that such an order might not be granted because a person who is being accused should be given the right, potentially, to defend themselves in a way they would not at the moment.

The case law of the Supreme Court has set the threshold of severity for a respondent's conduct to be considered in the making of a domestic violence order. Such a threshold would possibly be raised further if section 33 were made a serious offence. Given the potential criminal consequences of breaching an order made pursuant to that section, this could make it more difficult for victims of domestic violence to obtain these civil protection orders. While I have identified the possible issues, I want to acknowledge the positive intention of the Bill. Further examination of the Bill will be undertaken by officials.

I want to return to the brave comments of Senator Ryan, who mentioned her experiences as the daughter of someone who has been domestically abused. I will update the House and Senators on developments in implementing the family justice strategy, in particular in the context of the Family Courts Act 2024. The family justice strategy runs from 2022 to 2025. It is an ambitious programme of reform that sets out a vision for a system refocused on the needs and rights of children who are central to many family justice matters. The actions in the strategy are aimed at ensuring the family justice system works better for all of those engaged with it, in particular those who need additional support and protections, including domestic violence victims.

The Family Courts Act 2024 is a key component of our Department's family justice strategy and contains a number of provisions designed to make the family court process more user-friendly and less costly. The legislation provides for the establishment of family court divisions within the existing court structures, that is, a family High Court, a family Circuit Court and a family District Court. Judges who have specialist training or experience in dealing with family law matters will be assigned to the family courts divisions on a full-time basis.

Importantly, the Act contains a set of guiding principles for the family court system, including making the best interests of the child a primary consideration in the conduct of all family law proceedings and ensuring the safety of parties to proceedings and protecting victims and survivors of domestic violence. It is committed to in the programme for Government and it is intended to publish an implementation plan for the new family court system in early January 2026.