Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for the opportunity to make a short contribution to this important debate. I echo the comments expressed by previous speakers. I hardly know a woman among my acquaintances or people I work with who has not been in some way the victim of a sexual assault. It does not necessarily have to involve restraint or penetration but it is that common that it is terrifying when we think about it. Regrettably, as a younger woman I might have brushed it off, whether it was a man on a bus wanting to rub the back of your neck or sitting too close to you. There are a whole load of things like that and you just get off the bus, shake it off and think, "I will not think about it." Now, however, I am mindful of my daughter, who is a young woman who is not afraid to speak her mind, and that is a very good thing.

It is good we now have the opportunity to speak out. However, that has to be matched by support services. In that regard I pay tribute to the people who run the Aoibhneas service in my constituency. They do Trojan work. During the first lockdown, calls to Aoibhneas's helpline increased by 125%. When the restrictions were lifted, it saw a huge influx of women, for the most part, whose homes were not safe for them or their kids. We need to do an awful lot more. It is wrong that a heavy emphasis is placed on the need for dialogue. That is important but it cannot stop there. We cannot simply come into this Chamber and talk about this and commend the fact we now speak about issues of domestic and sexual abuse in a way perhaps we did not when people my age were younger. We have to do more. We have to do better.

In the few seconds remaining to me I urge the Government to work with me to pass my legislation which would give paid leave to the victims of domestic abuse. We in Sinn Féin have gone out to consult. We have done all the work on this. It is ready to go. It is about to go to Committee Stage. I want the Government to work with me because this leave is a workers' rights issue and a workplace issue, particularly when your workplace becomes a site of abuse. We need to give that support to men and women who are victims and survivors.

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