Domestic violence Bills to be brought before Cabinet

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald will bring two Bills to Cabinet on Tuesday on tackling domestic violence.

Ms Fitzgerald said she hoped the Domestic Violence Bill and the Victims of Crime Bill would be enacted by next summer to allow for Ireland’s ratification in early 2018 of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

It is known as the Istanbul Convention and obliges governments to fully address the issue of violence against women, to protect women against all forms of violence and to prosecute perpetrators.

Ireland signed the convention in November last year but a number of actions need to be taken before it can be ratified, including the enactment of the two Bills.

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The Domestic Violence Bill will extend access to interim barring orders and give judges power to refer perpetrators to programmes. Both issues are requirements of the convention.

The issue was raised in the Dáil last week when Sinn Féin’s Jonathan O’Brien asked when the convention would be ratified. He noted that the pre-legislative scrutiny on the Domestic Violence Bill took place more than a year ago and he was concerned that it might take until the first quarter of 2018.

Ms Fitzgerald said this was up to the Dáil Business Committee but she hoped the Bills could be through the Oireachtas by the summer.

“Right now the intention is to be absolutely sure that we can ratify the convention in the first quarter of 2018,” she added.

Ms Fitzgerald said many of the actions required under the convention were being implemented on a daily basis under current legislation and administrative practice. However 18 actions remain to be completed.

Eight actions are on target, two are completed, the other four cover the two Bills and four actions have yet to commence, she said.

The 18 actions include providing clear high quality standards in services for victims of domestic violence and sexual violence and providing “reasonable opportunity” for disclosure of such violence.

Other actions include promoting and developing understanding and recognition of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence among the public and across the State sector.

It also involves making education around violence and healthy relationships a standard part of teaching in secondary and third level institutions.