Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak in this debate. It is timely that we are discussing this today on International Men's Day. All men should have a sense of shame and abhorrence to see what has happened in recent days with the images that were shared on the Internet on different sites. People can call it coercive control or revenge porn but there are no adjectives to describe it. It is disgusting and abhorrent. It is concerning to any of us who are parents or grandparents to know that these things can happen and that men can do this. This seems to have been done in an organised fashion. A lot of effort and intuition was put into it.

The Minister must act. We must act and cannot wait to act. We acted in the banking crisis, we acted with Covid and we acted recently in health legislation. The Minister brought in measures to allow vulture funds to use hearsay evidence. This is shocking. I am not saying anything personal to the Minister because I know she will act. We have to act immediately to have legislation in place that stops these images being shared. They are often, as previous speakers have said, taken in good faith. They are sometimes taken with people under 18. It is truly shocking and it must resonate with all of us in our core values. It is not acceptable.

I salute the Cuan Saor women's refuge in Clonmel and the Tipperary Rape Crisis Centre. The volunteers who man those centres - there are some paid people as well - have to go out fundraising. These are the only refuges people have and I salute the people there. I know many of them from being involved in the day under the arches each September, where they do a huge fundraising campaign and raise awareness. Musicians, singers and other talented people come along to entertain, people pay and there are bucket collections. It is a shame they have to do that. They should be funded. I salute Geraldine Mullane, Breeda Bell, Verona Nugent and the many others who are involved in the huge organisation that day entails. They could not have that day this year because of lockdown.

When will we learn about lockdown? Look at the trauma. The figures that have been put out show a 25% increase. I heard Deputy Eoghan Murphy with interest. He was a member of the Cabinet when, as Shane Ross said, Dr. Holohan frightened the - I will not use the word Shane Ross used - out of Cabinet members. We were all frightened but Dr. David Nabarro has said clearly that lockdowns do not work. Lockdowns are regressive and particularly harmful to poorer people and people with less income. Can Deputies imagine being in a house, flat or area where there is violence? It can work both ways and some men are affected as well by domestic violence. This is occurring during the dark, dreary, desperate days of lockdown at the moment with bad weather and short days, as we look forward to Christmas while being fed the line that we will have another lockdown after Christmas. We need to listen to the WHO. Ministers quote it when it suits them. The WHO has said lockdowns do not work. We know they do not work. It is interesting to hear it coming from Deputy Eoghan Murphy and I welcome it because he was in the Cabinet that brought it in.

I salute An Garda Síochána across the country, especially in Tipperary under Chief Superintendent Derek Smart and superintendents including Denis Whelan in Cahir; Pat O'Connor, who has just retired; and Willie Leahy.

When this new sexual unit was being set up some months ago, An Garda Síochána was oversubscribed with interest from gardaí. They wanted 12 gardaí and two sergeants. I wish that unit well. It is badly needed.

Time has evolved and education is important. It is a bad day when we do not learn something, but it was a horrific day when we learned about the events of recent days. We must act in the coming weeks and not after Christmas. We cannot leave it, especially with the crisis of lockdown.

I salute all the gardaí who gallantly join the force. I pay tribute again to Sergeant Niall O'Halloran, who was laid to rest on Tuesday. He was a great man who worked in the community. He had the trust of the people and the people had his back. They could call to his house and he dealt with issues sensitively, as all gardaí do. They need further education and we need stronger legislation. We need emergency legislation there. Unfortunately, when those units are set up, the community policing unit is affected and the traffic corps is diminished because the units recruit from within the force. We need more gardaí and I know the Government is recruiting more. Issues are turning up now. We have to deal with the issue of porn and other issues on the web. Cybercrime is dangerous as well. We have to deal with this sensibly and urgently. I appeal to the Minister to introduce legislation to deal with this matter in the near future. I am talking about days, not weeks, because we cannot face Christmas with this situation. This will stir up more by being debated and put more fear into the people we are trying to help.

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