NWCI welcomes publication of new Domestic Violence Bill

Published: Friday, February 03, 2017

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) welcomes the publication of the Domestic Violence Bill, which will pave the way for Ireland’s ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).

Orla O’Connor, Director of NWCI said,

“NWCI welcomes the strong recognition expressed by Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald that domestic violence is unacceptable and that it has a devastating impact on society as a whole. This Bill will be an extremely important piece of legislation in order to pave the way for Ireland’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention. The measures outlined in the Bill will be crucial to enhance the protection for women in domestic violence situations. In addition, the expression by the Minister to include dating relationships within the Bill during the amendment phase is a particularly welcome announcement. ”

She added,

“We will be analysing the Domestic Violence Bill further in relation to the recommendations we made to the Oireachtas Committee and attempt to progress these through the amendment phase. However, it is already clear that in addition to this Bill, we continue to need a separate piece of legislation that makes domestic violence a criminal offence in its own right.”

Ends/

For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, Head of Communications, Tel. 085 858 9104.