I commend Senator Tony Mulcahy for his open and honest contribution on domestic violence that he gave at yesterday’s justice committee. Fianna Fáil joins other Members in offering support to the Senator and to legislation, whether amending or new, to criminalise this quiet act going on across the country. It not only affects women and children but also men, a point some forget. Men are bullied and beaten in their homes. It affects every segment of a family and should be criminalised. I am horrified. Until Senator Tony Mulcahy’s contribution yesterday, I did not realise it was not a criminal matter. I encourage the Senator to bring forward legislation in this regard as a matter of urgency which Fianna Fáil will support.

I attended yesterday’s presentation by the Irish Postmasters Union in Buswells Hotel, as did many other Members. It would be a sad day for rural communities if our post offices were forced to close because they were not given the opportunity to tender on a level playing pitch for State services. One example given yesterday was the new driving licence. An Post tendered for it, but it was not able to compete with private enterprise because some of the main criteria were not about accessibility or number of outlets but cost. As a result, people in larger counties have to travel up to 80 to 90 miles to a centre to apply for a driving licence. This is not acceptable. Will the Deputy Leader impress upon the Government the importance of a level playing field to allow post offices tender for any State contracts and thus ensure they can remain in rural areas? We have lost far too much already. We do not want to lose more post offices.

I commend Senator Tony Mulcahy for his revelations yesterday. I am surprised Senator Diarmuid Wilson claims he did not know domestic violence is not classified as a criminal offence considering I brought forward a motion-----

Excuse me, I did not say that. I said I was horrified to realise it was not a crime.

Yes, but I am surprised he did not realise it, considering I brought forward a motion in this House, with cross-party support, on the very issue.

The Senator is putting words in his mouth.

Fianna Fáil supported the motion and I highlighted the issue at the time.

On a point of information, in fairness I cannot be aware of everything that happens in this House 365 days of the year.

Fair enough. Point taken.

I am responding to an honest contribution given by a Member to the justice committee on domestic violence.

The Senator has made his point.

I merely pointed out that I was not aware and was horrified that it was not a crime.

Point taken, but it was an issue I had raised here before. We discussed it at length and there was cross-party support. I commend Senator Tony Mulcahy for his honesty and bravery for speaking out on this matter. Sometimes it takes someone giving their personal experience for people to listen. I hope we will now move forward on this issue.

Yesterday, the House had a good debate on A Vision for Change. However, many of us sat here for two hours waiting to contribute to it. It was dominated by the problems with mental health services in Ballinasloe, with which I do not have a problem as it is an issue for the people there and the Senators who raised it. There is far more to A Vision for Change, however, with many other issues which we would have liked to raise yesterday. Last night, I expressed my disappointment to the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, that there were many issues we wanted to raise but did not get a chance on which to speak. Will the Deputy Leader invite her back for another debate on A Vision for Change at the earliest opportunity to allow for other issues to be discussed?

Ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an bhfianaise a thug an Seanadóir Mulcahy dúinn inné nuair a tharraing sé aird ar an gceist seo. Spats aside, it is important the whole issue of domestic violence has been put back on the agenda. I would welcome a debate on this issue again. We have already had several debates on it.

It is a very serious issue to which I have drawn attention on a number of occasions in the joint policing committee meetings I have attended. It is one of the statistics that has been increasing month after month and meeting after meeting.

We have been talking about performances. I am looking forward to going to the Abbey Theatre to see a version of "Sive", in which I performed when I was a young fellow with hair. That is a few years ago. We certainly had a wonderful performance yesterday at the Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions. I would call it a performance and a tour de force worthy of the Abbey stage. The Minister for Justice and Equality certainly gave a great rendition, but I do not think any of the Deputies or Senators there fully believed him in respect of what has been happening in connection with GSOC. The inquiry certainly does not go far enough. I know the Labour Party has been trying to take the kudos for pushing for an inquiry but the fact that it will not be done under the Commission of Investigation Act 2004 is regrettable. We should be pushing for this because we need the compellability to go with it. The handling of the whistleblower affair leaves much to be desired, as does the fact that the confidential recipient has ostensibly been fired. There are some very worrying reports in the Irish Examiner and I believe on "The Pat Kenny Show", particularly one by Michael Clifford, about the case of Sylvia Roche Kelly who was murdered. The article by Michael Clifford states:

The reality, though, is that the case was an example of serious malpractice within the gardaí for which there can only be two plausible explanations. Either there was gross incompetence by a number of officers, or there was an organised cover-up designed to avoid scandal in the wake of an initial mistake.

That is a very serious allegation at which we really need to look. Given all the shenanigans that have been going on relating to these very serious issues, does the Deputy Leader and the Labour Party have full confidence in the Minister for Justice and Equality or does the Deputy Leader agree with our deputy leader, Deputy Marie-Louise O'Donnell that-----