Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Some 48% of the respondents said they had experienced domestic violence of some sort. Of those, 24% said they had experienced one form of violence, 25% said they had experienced two or three types of violence, 20% said they had experienced four to seven types of violence; and 31% of these women had experienced eight or more types of violence.

The most commonly experienced behaviour was where a partner punched or kicked the walls or furniture, shouting at and threatening the children, and where the woman was pushed, grabbed or shoved. More serious violent incidents occurred as well. Some 10% of the women reported having been punched in the face; 10% were punched or kicked on the body, arms or legs; 9% were choked; and 9% were forced to have sex. These admissions are pretty shocking.

Two of the most common controlling behaviours reported by the women who responded to the questionnaire were that their partners shouted or screamed at them, and also that they threatened violence against or were violent towards their children. It is not just the woman who is on the receiving end of domestic violence, it is the whole family. The effect on the children must be really dreadful.

Many of these women did not present in the practice with injuries, but did present with anxiety and depression. A considerable number of them had received treatment for many years for anxiety and depression, and what is described as somatisation, which is where their mental anxiety causes them to have physical problems. The cost of this to the health service must be quite astonishing.

Some 77% of the women who responded said they felt it would be right for the general practitioner whom they commonly attended to ask about domestic violence. In my own practice, I have only infrequently asked female patients about domestic violence. Only 5% of the respondents to Dr. Bradley's survey said they had ever been asked by their general practitioner if domestic violence could have been involved in their cases. The survey's findings provide much food for thought, particularly for those of my medical colleagues who are involved in general practice.

Dr. Bradley carried out a similar survey in accident and emergency units where she or a nurse interviewed women who came in. In all such cases, a woman interviewed another woman and the survey was undertaken privately. It was found that a high percentage of the women who came in with bruising, broken noses or broken fingers had not suffered such injuries in falls but as a result of domestic violence. Hospital accident and emergency departments must ensure privacy for female patients so they can speak in confidence to medical and nursing staff who can then discover if domestic violence has caused them to attend the unit.

It was not only young women who attended the accident and emergency units; women in their 60s and 70s frequently attended also. In these cases, the older women had not necessarily suffered violence as a result of their partner beating them up – in some cases their children were involved. We are not doing enough to address this serious issue.

I wish to acknowledge the work that Dr. Bradley undertook. If only more of us in the medical profession were so concerned about examining the epidemiology of illness, perhaps we would not have such a serious situation in our casualty departments. I am quite sure that with counselling and investigation into family problems, a considerable amount of domestic violence could be addressed.

The lack of privacy in family courts was raised by Senator Walsh. That is unacceptable. The family courts should sit in private. The Court Services has attempted to examine the issue of what happens in the family courts and I have raised it in this House also.

Often we do not realise how serious these cases are. An attempt was made last year to appoint a barrister to the courts to compile a report in this regard. However, the then Attorney General felt the in camera rule would be breached if this were to happen. The barrister concerned is no longer employed by the Court Services as her contract expired in April. She was unable to produce reports even though they would have been anonymous and undertaken with people who had given consent for their cases to be addressed.

We have to find some way of addressing this issue. I am sure the Minister is as concerned as I am – I see him nodding – about this matter. People do not understand just how serious these cases frequently are. Senator Terry's concerns regarding the eight days need to be taken into account in this regard also.

Men are often injured in domestic violence incidents. They, too, feel threatened and abused in the home. I have worked in casualty departments and it is only in approximately one out of every seven cases that such incidents arise. The main reason women are abused is that they are physically smaller.

Women's groups warn that over one in five women will suffer domestic violence this Christmas season. That means that between 20% and 25% of women will be beaten by their spouses or partners. The National Network of Women's Refuge and Support Services say its 32 centres around the country will be full on St. Stephen's Day as a result of domestic violence incidents. There were 10,877 Garda call-outs to domestic violence incidents in 2000; in 1999 the number of such incidents reported to gardaí increased by 20% over 1998. Of the 4,578 barring orders applied for in the year 2000, 2,142 were granted. The safety and sanction research into domestic violence and enforcement of law in Ireland in 1999 conducted by Women's Aid indicated that children were present at and witnessed a significant amount of domestic violence incidents in the home.

Ninety-six women were murdered by their spouses or partners in the past seven years. We are not alone in these statistics. Battering is the single biggest cause of injury to women in the USA with 4,000 women a year being beaten to death by their partner. In Sweden, every ten days a woman is beaten to death and its 115 refuge centres are constantly full. Twenty-five per cent of women in Britain suffer physical abuse from their partners. In Canada, 39% of women report having been assaulted at some stage.

We, in Ireland, have a unique distinction in this area, the pervasive and wicked influence of alcohol in our society. Only last week we debated the consequences of alcohol abuse among young people. It is fair to correlate that abuse with young people if it is to continue into their adult life, thereby contributing to these statistics and, unfortunately, increasing them.

Domestic violence and alcohol abuse are directly related. In discussing the legal framework within which to deal with domestic violence we must also look at what causes it. We have to be seen to take action by raising awareness through education campaigns to prevent alcohol abuse, a major factor in domestic violence. Christmas is a time of high emotion. It is, equally, a time when barring orders become necessary and are often breached. It is imperative that we, as legislators, enact this Bill to provide those vulnerable in society with the necessary protection of the courts at this time of year. The culture of taking alcohol to celebrate every occasion from birth to death is something we must consider seriously. We must get it right and this is an opportunity to do so.

We must protect the vulnerable and emphasise the effect of domestic violence on children. At Christmas time, when children's expectation are so high, it is very worrying if households or family units are destroyed by domestic violence, particularly if we do not have in place the necessary legislation to provide protection for these children. That is one of the reasons I welcome this Bill. We must protect children, the guardian of these children and the parent who is responsible for them. We cannot allow victims to fall through legal loopholes. I commend the Minister for his timely action on this issue.

The law as it stood was an accident waiting to happen. The two primary areas of justice are that no man should be a judge in his own case and, equally, one must hear the other side, which is true but not possible at all times. In the case of direct evidence, protection must be given and the court must act to restrain further violence, possibly fatal violence if the court does not act. For that reason I welcome the Bill. Given the rise in family law cases, there need to be dedicated judges or courts in the area of family law who can bring their expertise and wisdom to bear in this field.

I wish to pay tribute to the many refuge centres, including Connolly House and Edel House in Cork city which provide such a valuable service. I acknowledge the contribution made by medical practitioners and pharmacists who at times are the first people to identify domestic violence. These people have an integral role to play in protecting the most vulnerable in our society. I commend the Bill to the House.

It is right that we should acknowledge the fine work of non-governmental agencies such as the rape crisis centres and the women's refuges. Such organisations have given hope to those who have suffered from domestic violence. Their extremely important work is appreciated by those who have availed of it and by successive Governments. As someone who works in the voluntary sector, I can imagine the problems that are faced by the groups to which I have referred in terms of fundraising. They chase down benefactors and peddle boxes of flags to raise money to provide a service that the Government has not been providing to a sufficient extent. Many other bodies deserve the same credit as the two I mentioned for contributing in a meaningful way. It is good to note that, during its 1997 to 2002 term of office, the Government increased funding for the agencies from €3.8 million to €11.5 million.

The importance of providing information for those who suffer domestic violence cannot be overstated. They need to know that information services are available. The national steering committee, chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, has run tremendous awareness campaigns and has sent out a great deal of information in relation to the services that are available. In the past, domestic violence was considered a private matter and not one for legislation. A family row in a rural area was kept indoors as there was a pride factor – it would be considered that one had let the family down if one reported one's experiences of domestic violence. I am sure that a great deal of hardship was endured by many women who were afraid, perhaps as a result of their pride, to let it be known that there was a problem in their homes.

We need to educate the public to change its attitude to domestic violence. We have to ensure that the legal process is adequate and that those charged with the responsibility of dealing with this issue, including the Garda Síochána, have the relevant knowledge to deal with it effectively. Perceptions are beginning to change and rightly so. It is past time this happened. People other than the man or woman concerned suffer when instances of domestic violence take place because children are often involved. I recently read that a child is either present or in the next room during 80% of domestic violence incidents, a statistic that emerged from international research.

One can only imagine the effect on a child of seeing his or her parents having a row that manifests itself in the form of physical violence. When such an incident is etched on the minds of children, they show it in different ways. Perhaps the worst thing they can do is to keep it bottled up and it is better if they externalise their feelings. We need to ensure that the necessary facilities and tools are available to those charged with recognising the symptoms of the problems I have mentioned, so they can put in place the mechanisms necessary to deal with the issues.

We must create an ethos whereby sufferers of violence know that people care for them and their children. In the event of sufferers revealing the tragedy of domestic abuse, it is important that a caring and professional system is in place to assist them. It is important that GPs and the staff of accident and emergency departments are skilled in recognising what needs to be done to deal with domestic violence. Medical personnel should keep accurate and comprehensive records so that trends and patterns of violence can be recognised.

I welcome the Bill and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, for bringing it to the House so swiftly. I look forward to its quick passage.

The Minister of State is aware that some serious issues were raised in the ruling to which I refer. When the legislation was being discussed in these Houses in 1996, the former Minister, Mr. Taylor, said that the provision that one's home could be forfeited on the basis of an application that comes before the courts was a draconian power. Quite rightly in my view, the Supreme Court made two rulings in relation to interim barring orders. The court said, first, that a time limit should be imposed on the barring orders in question and, second, that respondents have a right to know all the evidence proffered against them. The Minister of State knows that it is a fundamental principle of justice and an aspect of any summons that goes before a court that a person has the right to defend himself against any charges to be proffered against him and has a right to know the evidence as set out in the courts. Having read it, the Supreme Court judgment seems to be a logical application of the jurisprudence that exists in this country. It was a considerable oversight on the part of the Oireachtas in 1996 that it did not foresee this problem.

When I spoke on the Order of Business earlier, I was not speaking against the Bill but simply making the point that we need to take our time to ensure we get it right this time. As we do not want to make the same mistake again, it is important that this legislation is debated fully, as it has been so far today. I hope it will be thoroughly examined on Committee and Report Stages and that many of the issues to which I refer will be ironed out as part of the House's discourse with the Minister of State, who is an expert on these matters. I believe he will respond clearly to the amendments that will be proposed.

Domestic violence is a tragedy for men, women and families and it is sad that the State has to intervene. There are circumstances in which it is necessary, for the benefit of children and the individuals involved, for the State to have the power to legislate for interim ex parte barring orders, particularly at this time of year.

Many men are concerned, not with the law passed by the Oireachtas, but with the application of it in the courts. I was very struck when I entered elected politics, representing an ostensibly working class constituency in Dublin, at the number of men who complained to me about court rulings. They said they had been dealt with unfairly, that there was a presumption of guilt attached to them and that for them, at least, their experience of the courts, particularly of barring orders in the family law courts, was unfair. Much of that is perception – the courts have to decide these issues – but we must respond to it. The issue of domestic violence is greater than just the appalling circumstances for women.

The Minister of State is involved in the Department of Health and Children and I ask him to put pressure on his colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, to publish a report on domestic violence which has been on his desk for the last three years. It is the most exhaustive study of domestic violence ever carried out in the State. We would be in a better position to judge much of the anecdotal and empirical evidence which has been heard in this debate if this report were published. As Senator Walsh pointed out, there are cases of domestic violence against men and we must ensure fairness and due process in the courts' deliberations on these sanctions.

I ask the Minister to publish this report once and for all, to get it out into the public domain and ensure that the largest possible survey of domestic violence is published as soon as possible so that we know the evidence.

I generally welcome the Bill but caution all Members to give it the respect and attention to detail that it requires. It is rare for a Bill to come before the House concerning legislation passed by the Oireachtas on which the Supreme Court has ruled so emphatically.

Another point to bear in mind, and Senator Minihan alluded to it, is that children are part of domestic violence. They are the innocent victims. Their parents could be in a bedroom, while they are in another listening to what is going on. Worse still, they might witness their father beating their mother or, in some cases, their mother being abusive to her husband.

I welcome the Bill but I would like to see special family court sittings in high density areas. Perhaps there could be more family-friendly sittings where a mother could leave children to school or to a baby minder when she goes to court, rather than having to bring the children into the court with her.

Senator Terry said earlier today she was rather sad that we were rushing the legislation through. The legislation has come at the right time and has not been rushed through. This is a very emotional time of year when we experience high levels of stress, alcohol consumption and debt. All of this, unfortunately, leads to people losing their heads. The fists are very much to the fore. A house which does not experience something like this is very lucky. Christmas should be a time of harmony and peace. It is a time when we reflect and think of people who are less well off. I welcome the Bill, which comes at the right time. I again compliment the Minister of State on his speedy response.

The holding of domestic violence cases in camera is also contributing to the culture of secrecy surrounding such issues. A new approach of openness and accountability would enable victims to read about such cases, realise that they are not alone in their suffering and seek help. During the period of abuse the victims are often unaware of or afraid to tap into the range of confidential services available to them. Services such as the Rape Crisis Centre, Women's Aid and AMEN provide invaluable assistance to abuse sufferers. I compliment them on their work.

The 2001 Garda annual report states that of all cases investigated that year, 10,000 related to domestic violence incidents. Last year more than a thousand callers to Women's Aid had endured an abusive relationship for more than 30 years. This represents a whole lifetime destroyed by abuse, whether physical, sexual or mental. The three types of abuse are not mutually exclusive and the abuser often uses mental abuse such as intimidation and bullying to prevent his or her abused partner from leaving. Although physical abuse is more evident to a neighbour or outsider, mental abuse is equally traumatic for the victim. Last year Women's Aid received a far greater number of calls reporting mental abuse than physical abuse. Disturbingly, in 2001 more than 60% of victims of sexual abuse had been abused by someone known to them, such as a relative, partner or a date. This confirms the domestic nature of abuse. Sadly, the person from whom help should be available is too often the person who has instigated the abuse.

The amendments we are debating will provide greater protection to victims of domestic violence and the legislation will address last month's Supreme Court ruling on the unconstitutionality of interim barring orders because of the absence of time limits on the operation of such orders and other concerns raised by those working in this area with regard to the Domestic Violence Act, 1996. This Act allows one partner to go to the District Court and swear information to apply for an interim barring order against the other partner, who does not have to be notified. No time limit is set on the operation of the order, which can stay in place until a full hearing. In delivering the judgment of the court, the Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Keane, said that the Legislature's failure to impose any time limits on orders with such draconian consequences was inexplicable. In the resultant confusion, some perpetrators of abuse have moved back with their partners following the rescinding of interim barring orders, forcing women to take refuge in emergency accommodation.

Interim barring orders were created to protect women where the court is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is an immediate risk of significant harm to the applicant or any dependent person if the order is not made immediately, and the granting of a protection order would not be sufficient to protect the applicant or any dependent person. The rescinding of the interim barring order has created a vacuum in which women are without adequate recourse to legal protection and it is imperative that the current wait of ten to 12 days before a barring order hearing takes place is reduced to seven days. Senator Terry referred to an eight day period and that would also be acceptable.

Victims of domestic violence, regardless of gender, must be protected by every means we have available, but in doing so we must not create new victims. Justice must be done and be seen to be done, fairly and equitably. This important legislation must leave no room for loopholes.

We must do everything we can to break the cycle of violence. The national steering committee set up by the previous Government has gone a long way in that regard by putting in place directives on reaching out to health boards, NGOs and services for women experiencing violence. Information should now be available in libraries, Garda stations and hospitals. Such information is not always available. For example, I contacted a Garda station today and it was not available there. The steering committee has stated that its terms of reference would ensure information is available in schools, health boards and libraries. Even if it is available in these places, could a vulnerable woman look for it? We must create an effective national awareness campaign that is not just a once-off. It must be ongoing and make society face up to the fact that this is a real problem that cannot be swept under the carpet.

Domestic violence is a crime, a social problem, and legislators should be fighting against it. We will never be rid of it entirely, but we must acknowledge and help those affected. We must let them know that there is a refuge for them, that they can get out, that local authorities can provide vital accommodation and that the health boards will help.

If we increase funding, it must be reflected in better services. The training of hospital personnel for those who arrive in accident and emergency units as a result of domestic violence is important. Front-line personnel should know the difference between ordinary accidents and violent abuse. Schools should also receive funding for the physical and psychological needs of young people.

I am glad this legislation is being amended, but the Minister of State must ensure it is implemented in a manner whereby the public can see that there is protection for those being abused. We must never stop talking about this issue and ensure it remains on the agenda.

Senator Jim Walsh referred to our view of marriage. Initiatives by the health boards, such as the Springboard initiative, are funded by the Department of Health and Children and seek to intervene as early as possible to protect the welfare of children where there is a difficult parenting position and ensure those children get the chance to advance in life. Initiatives can be taken by Government agencies but the State cannot become a parent. We must have standards of parenting at a social level. The State cannot be expected to fund indefinitely the parenting of all children. We would not have the resources to do that no matter how great our prosperity. We must affirm the importance of parents in setting an example and taking responsibility for children.

The Supreme Court was very critical of us for using the phrase "exceptional circumstances" in the initial legislation and I understand why Senators refer to the issue. It should be exceptional to remove anyone from a family home, but when the courts have to deal with this, they cannot make a judgment about how common this exceptional circumstance is as a social phenomenon. They have to view it in the light of immediate circumstances. The urgency, rather than the exceptional character of the circumstances, is what impresses itself upon a court.

The Court Services Commission has done much in the area of court facilities and progress has been made in recent years compared to the circumstances that obtained when I commenced legal practice.

Senator Henry gave an interesting account of the medical phenomenon of violence against women. As a medical practitioner, we must give weight to her opinion that the trend of the statistics is for far more violence against women than against any other group, while not denying that violence is perpetrated against many different family members.

The Senator also raised the issue of the publicity of court proceedings in family matters. It is an important issue and we must be careful in this area. We must respect the privacy of family proceedings, but the standard of criticism that must take place in such cases is at issue. The Constitution is clear that justice must be administered in public save in such specially limited circumstances as are prescribed by law. The bulk of matrimonial and family law proceedings are way beyond the specially limited circumstance and amount to much of the business of the courts. The programme for Government contained a commitment to consider this area.

The courts are not accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas or the Government. However, they are accountable to public opinion which cannot be formed if there is not some form of publicity about the decisions being made. There are no proposals in this measure to deal with that, but it must be examined and there is a commitment for that in the programme for Government.

Senators referred to the fact that there are sensitive issues with regard to the necessary privacy which parties to these proceedings would wish to see obtain. There is an equal need to ensure that what the courts do is subject to public scrutiny. There is a difficult balance to be struck and the Government has made a commitment to address this issue, which was raised by Senator Hayes.

Senator Minihan welcomed the legislation and stressed the need for social provision and refuge centres. He also commented on the social phenomenon of violence, a matter to which Senators Feeney, Bannon, Ormonde, Kett and Tuffy also referred. It is a phenomenon that has always been there, but one that must be openly addressed by the Oireachtas.

The legislation has been introduced to respond to the concerns of the Supreme Court on the legal aspect of the problem. I hope I have dealt with most of the points of substance raised by Senators on Second Stage. If there are particular issues, I would prefer to deal with them in committee as they relate to the technical character of the legislation.

Question put and agreed to.