Irish domestic abuse bill will not create specific offence

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Ireland’s proposed Domestic Violence Bill will not create a specific criminal offence for domestic abuse, as reported on 3 May 2017. The decision concerns abuse of partners or spouses, including physical and psychological abuse.

The legislation will instead define relationships for barring and safety orders in the Family Court, without changing criminal prosecutions for partner abuse. Women’s rights groups said a distinct offence could recognise coercive and controlling behaviour and make prolonged, lower-level abuse easier to prosecute.

The report also noted criticism of suspected under-recording of domestic violence incidents and said official Garda figures showed five times more incidents in Northern Ireland the previous year, despite its smaller population.