Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is true, but the Department must also have an approach to the low uptake of this scheme, given the prevalence of violence against women, and to a lesser extent against men. There is an onus on the Government and the Department to conduct a review of that scheme and identify the issues in order that we can introduce proper legislation based on policy.

I fully support amending this area. Could we amend the existing legislation, such as the 1995 Act, to broaden the scope? Is that appropriate? If we bring in a new Act, it would unfortunately be confined. Should we instead amend the existing legislation in a broader way? Would that help?