Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Natasha O'Brien for coming here today. After what happened to her, the first phone call I got about it was from a man, Evan, who said he had spent time with Natasha in Lourdes on their school trip, where they went out to help people with disabilities around Lourdes. He said that she is a lovely girl and that he was absolutely disgusted by what happened to her. What followed on from this, however, when the person who caused the harm to Natasha and beat her unconscious was brought before the courts, was a court decision on a suspended sentence, even though he admitted guilt. That prevented him from being dealt with by the Army, a legal loophole preventing somebody who has committed such a serious crime and admitted the guilt of doing it from getting a custodial sentence.

We have seen in recent years the amount of violence against women. Ashling Murphy, God rest her, was out for a run. I am glad the Minister is in the position she is in because she can empathise with this. Our garda numbers are depleting. We need to encourage more men and women to join our Garda service. I need the Minister to lead this in such a way that we know the people coming in to protect us will be protected while they are getting into the Garda service and will be given a place to live while they are being trained in the service, a place where, with all the inflation, they can actually live and be trained such that we encourage the right people to come into the Garda service. I plead with the Minister to encourage that.

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