Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is aware that there is a Dáil and Seanad process and I ask her to acknowledge the existence of that process in her utterances in the Chamber and outside.

I remind her of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 which has been fully operational since 1 January last. It improves the protections available to victims of domestic violence under both the civil and criminal law. In particular, section 6 of the Act enables a person to apply for a safety order to prohibit the respondent from using or threatening to use violence against the applicant, putting the applicant in fear, watching or besetting a place where the applicant resides, following the applicant or communicating with the applicant, including by electronic means. The Act extended eligibility for safety orders to applicants who were in an intimate relationship with the respondent prior to the application but who were not cohabiting.

There are protections under that Act. I will be happy to look at the details of the Deputy's Bill but I again ask her to acknowledge that there is a process in which we must engage to ensure that what we do is operationally sound.

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