A NEW Act which radically improves protection against violence in the home becomes law, tomorrow. It has been widely welcomed by women's groups, the Garda and the judiciary.
Under the Domestic Violence Act, 1995, the powers of the gardai to arrest and charge a violent person are substantially increased. For the first time, the law on barring and protection orders is extended to include cohabitees and their children. It also provides protection for parents suffering violence from adult children. Barring orders will be available in cases of extreme emergency.
"It is simple, quick, cheap and effective and provides a short, sharp response to the problems of domestic violence," the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Taylor, said yesterday.
He defined domestic violence as "any form of physical, mental; or sexual violence which puts the safety or welfare of a family member at risk".
Annual applications for barring orders - which can be extended to three years under the new law - currently run to more than 4,000 and more than 2,000 are granted each year.
Launching a short guide to accompany the new Act, the Minister stressed the inclusion of a "safety order" - an innovation based on a court order which stops short of removing the abuser from the house, provided he does not threaten or use violence. It can also be used against a "stalker" who is living apart from the victim but continues to watch her and hang around the family home.
The Act also gives the health boards powers to take action against an abuser in a case where the victim is assessed as being too terrified to act on her own or her children's behalf. Mr Taylor cited the Kilkenny incest case as an example.
He praised the input of Women's Aid, with which he and his officials worked closely in drawing up the Bill. However, Ms Roisin McDermott, chairwoman of the organisation, said later that, while she and her colleagues welcomed the Act, they believed an inter departmental committee should be set up to monitor its working.
The Progressive Democrats' spokeswoman on women's affairs, Ms Helen Keogh, said she welcomed the legislation, but regretted that the provision on barring orders for cohabiting women was not applied more broadly. Under the Act, the protection depends on the length of time the couple have been living together and on the rights of ownership held by the abused spouse.
Mr Taylor, who hosted a reception for a wide range of women's groups, gardai, district court officials and other involved observers, said the short guide to the Act - Protection from Domestic Violence would be an invaluable information sheet. He wanted them to be available at all outlets from doctors' surgeries to Garda stations.