Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with what the Deputy has said. Delivery and the maintaining of momentum on this will be key. The week before Ashling's murder, I met the Minister for Justice and, separately, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, looking ahead. We focused on the issue and on the issue that others have raised in this House about having a focal point and a lead Department. The sector outside, that is, the people advocating on behalf of women, had been looking for this as well.

That issue has been resolved in terms of the Department of Justice leading on all aspects of this and having a chain of accountability to the Taoiseach's office and to a Cabinet subcommittee and working with the Oireachtas through either a specific committee or the relevant Oireachtas committee to make sure there are timelines to get things done. The proposed hate crime legislation is important and Coco's Law has been important. Supporting a Victim's Journey and the No Excuses campaign are important initiatives that have been undertaken.

A comprehensive, co-ordinated approach is required and, above all, delivery is required on all fronts. The centrepiece of this strategy, as I said, is prevention, protection, prosecution and the co-ordination of policies.

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