David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

Respectfully, the Minister seems to have missed the point of the Bill. He has argued that victims who have reason to fear for their safety following the release of a convicted perpetrator have several legal avenues available to them to seek protection. The problem is that for many victims, those legal protections, as the Minister called them, are simply not fit for purpose because they force the victim to go back to court, retraumatise that person and put the onus and responsibility back on the victim, which is wrong. We need to ensure victims feel safe and can get on with their life rather than having to look over their shoulder, worried about whether they must go back to court to get a restraining order. The Bill makes sense and complements everything else in terms of existing supports.

I have spoken to many women who told of their sense of fear, not feeling safe and the worry when they hear the perpetrator is going to be released. Women must speak up, obviously, but so too must men. We have to call out the perpetrators of sexual violence and, of course, say it is wrong. We also must ensure perpetrators of sexual violence are properly held to account. It makes sense that the Bill be supported. At the core of most, if not all, sexual offences against women is control. We must take any amount of control we can away from the perpetrator, and this is one way of doing that. It makes perfect sense.

I commend Deputy Carthy on bringing the Bill before the Dáil and giving us an opportunity to discuss it. I welcome Senator McCormack and all the women in the Public Gallery. They want action. They are telling us the essence of the Bill makes sense. We must listen to victims, make sure the laws of the State, particularly when it comes to sexual offences, are geared around the rights and needs of victims and, as I said, take away any power the perpetrators have. I fully support the Bill and commend it to the House. I again thank Deputy Carthy for proposing it.

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