Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

Of course, I entirely agree with the Minister that not all the solutions are through the criminal justice system. Of course, this is an issue for all of society to address. This is an endemic social issue. It is the survivors themselves who have told me about hearing that dismissive attitude. Unfortunately, it is all too prevalent not just in the criminal justice system, but throughout our society. That is why we call for zero tolerance to tackle the attitude that dismisses what is a desperately serious issue and what is an epidemic.

Of course, there is excellent practice within An Garda Síochána but gardaí themselves acknowledge the need for improved training. We all know there is a shortcoming in Garda numbers. The Dublin task force has called for 1,000 extra gardai but there was no mention of that yesterday in the Minister’s implementation plan. It is not just gardaí or policing practice. Clearly, we need more general reform.

A year ago, in response to the courageous advocacy of Natasha O'Brien, we in the Labour Party brought forward a motion with eight specific asks on addressing gender-based violence. A year on, Natasha will be highlighted in a programme on RTÉ tonight calling again for more reform of the criminal justice system to address the needs of survivors. I will send the Minister our motion and I will be looking for action on it.

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