Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I also want to mark the death of a legend - Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. His magical voice expertly evoked all the drama and passion of the GAA for decades. He devoted a lifetime to the promotion of the GAA and the Irish language. He did this in a manner that beguiled and transfixed a nation. He will be missed but forever remembered.

I will also take this opportunity to wish the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, the very best in their new positions.

I warmly welcome Natasha O'Brien to the Gallery. I am not alone in being in complete awe of your bravery and strength and in being extraordinarily grateful to you for your leadership.

Every time a woman is attacked we say "Never again". Every time a woman is brutally killed we say "Never again". Every time a woman is retraumatised by our legal system we say "Never again". Every time an abuser walks free from court with a slap on the wrist we say "Never again". However, it always happens again. Do those words mean anything to State institutions? The women of Ireland have been repeating them for decades. There is no end in sight. Right now, in tens of thousands of homes all over the country, women are being brutalised. Last week, Women's Aid revealed that it had received 40,000 reports of abuse in 2023. That is a 20% increase on 2022 and the highest number in the 50-year history of Women's Aid. Violence against women is an epidemic. It frequently happens in plain sight.

Natasha O'Brien was walking home with her friend. All she was doing was existing in a public space. Cathal Crotty decided to beat her to a pulp while his friends stood there and watched. As Natasha lay unconscious on the ground and Crotty walked away, he did not display any remorse. It was the opposite in fact. It seemed he felt proud. "Two to put her down. Two to put her out." he bragged on social media. We can imagine how he felt when he walked free from court last week. What did Natasha feel? She felt ignored, defeated and devastated because a man's career was deemed more important than women's safety.

How many more times will we say "Never again"? How many more women will have to be attacked? How many more protests will we have to attend? What will it take for women's safety to be prioritised? Natasha O'Brien's courage and eloquence has been inspiring, but why is it she has to fight so hard to try to get a crumb of justice? Why is it that women have to bare our souls? Why is it that we have to lead public protests before there is any action or before abusers face any consequences? I put it to the Taoiseach that Natasha and so many other women out there are fed up of hearing "Never again". They are fed up hearing platitudes from politicians and they are fed up hearing promises of reform. What they want are answers as to why the system keeps failing them and action to stop it from happening again.

I understand and respect the separation of powers, but there are questions here for the Judicial Council. The council was set up in 2019 and tasked with issuing sentencing guidelines. Five years later and we are still waiting for any guidelines to be issued. Has the Taoiseach received an explanation for this inordinate delay? With so many victims of crime feeling betrayed and failed by the justice system, will he consider establishing an ombudsman for victims of crime? In other words, a single statutory agency tasked with assisting victims of crime and advocating for them.

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