Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise that as three other justice Bills were being taken at the same time, I was only able to get into the Seanad for the end of the debate. I support the intentions of the Bill and anything that will encourage victims to come forward and to know that their voices will be heard even perhaps at the end when a decision has been made and sentencing is being passed. As the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, explained, a number of elements of the Bill need further work. There is no issue with that. It is a matter of engaging and trying to see where we can fit this into the general scheme of legislation that is passing through. We have prioritised a number of Bills for this year. We need to ensure we can progress this work while not delaying any other Bills. It is something that I support, but we need to engage with each other and to look at the overall scope and intention of the Bill.

Supporting a Victim's Journey very much focuses on providing legal aid. We need to see where that might fit because there are a number of questions around where and when that comes into play if somebody has not had them before. We need to work through various details but, in general, I support the principles of the Bill. It is about ensuring that we get the timing right and that we can also progress all the legislation that has been set out.