Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The thoughts of all of us are with Ashling's family, her friends, her boyfriend and her colleagues, and the children who she taught who are experiencing terrible grief at this terrible time. I would like to acknowledge the incredible groundswell of support and solidarity that has been shown to the family, as well as the huge show of support that was there for the family at the funeral yesterday.

For far too long, harassment, violence and fear have impacted on the lives of women across this country. They have a right to be safe on our streets and in our homes, and yet too often they are not.

What happened to Ashling was horrendous and yet it is only the most recent in a long line of such incidents. In Laois-Offaly alone, for example, 28 years ago Imelda Keenan, a Mountmellick woman, went missing. She has not been found. No one has been brought to justice for it. Fiona Pender, last seen in Tullamore, went missing in 1996. Her parents are dead now. Her mother, Josie, spent the remainder of her life trying to find and get information on her and did not. Once again, despite the best efforts of the Garda and the community, no one has been held accountable. Marie Kilmartin, a young woman living in Portlaoise, was found buried in a bog hole in a drain in Mountmellick three decades ago. Over 244 women in Ireland have died violently since 1996. Women are subjected to misogyny, abuse, coercive control and harassment every single day and it must stop. Men must play their part in doing that. We need to change attitudes. We need to change behaviours. We need to ensure that violence against women and against girls is put to an end.

We need services that allow women to reach out whenever they are victims of domestic violence or other coercive methods. Nine counties, as has been said already, do not have a women's refuge centre. Laois and Offaly are two of those counties. I raised this over 20 years ago, as did others. Women and children in these two counties are being sent to refuges far away from their families, from their doctors and from their support groups and services. That has a huge impact. I have dealt with many of those families. Other Members in this House probably have as well over the years. I appeal to the Taoiseach that we need a women's refuge in Laois and we need one in Offaly. That must happen. Society needs to see that we, as legislators and parliamentarians, are taking this issue seriously. The time for talking is over and the time for action is now.

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