Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Labour Party on bringing forward the motion and I also commend Natasha O'Brien. I listened to Bláthnaid Raleigh on the radio this morning and nobody could help but be moved by the shock and horror of a situation thousands of women face every weekend. The level of trust they put in their own judgment is now questioned and it is questioned all the time. They think, "Will I be safe? This person seems okay". If they are going into a taxi on their own, they wonder whether they will be safe. There are the conversations we have with our kids. I have said many times that if you are getting into a taxi and have not called, take a picture of the driver and his or her details. That is where we are. That is the society we are living in. We say, "Do not walk home on your own". No woman should face those questions and questioning themselves every single day, in every situation they go into when they go out at night or go out during the day or go for a jog early in the morning time. They ask, "Is this a safe place? Will I be on my own? Can I get out? Is there a straight road and are there no turn-offs where I can go?" That is the reality of the questions women face every single day.

The Women's Aid report states tehre were more than 40,000 disclosures to its freephone helpline and face-to-face services during 28,638 contacts. That is an 18% increase on the previous year and the highest ever recorded by the organisation in its 50 years in existence. There are things that have changed, things are moving on and there is more recognition and more awareness of all this, but it is a really bad situation there for women and we need to look at this in a much deeper way. We can look at the newer things people have to face. There is the surveillance and these little tags that allow people to monitor others. It is very simple. They can be bought for €60 or €70. An awful lot more needs to be done.

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