Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I think Ms McDonald kicked it off there concerning the indirect victims of crime such as domestic violence, for example. The direct victim is usually the mother or partner, but the indirect victims are often forgotten in the debate. These are the young children who turn up crying in the classrooms on a Monday or Tuesday. When they are teenagers they often turn to drugs and suffer massive low self-esteem. These are the kids who often end up in Mountjoy or self-harming or abusing alcohol. They are often forgotten about. As part of the debate on this legislation we need to focus on those kids. I hate using the term "indirect victims" because I have seen some of those victims. By the way, I have seen some of those people who came from abused families abusing their own mothers when they became teenagers. We have a major problem with those young people and we need to support them. I emphasise that we need the practical supports for those young people.