David Maxwell (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Deputies McGettigan and Farrell have four minutes. I take it that they are taking two minutes each.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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Recently, we have seen shocking stories and harrowing accounts of young female students being attacked, abused, followed and harassed. This is a serious and urgent issue. Too many young women live in fear on the streets, in schools, on college campuses and even online. They face catcalling, stalking, spiking and, in the worst cases, assault. It is shameful to think that young women in Ireland, who should be excited to be facing a new chapter in their lives, are finding that it all goes horribly wrong when they are stalked or assaulted. Many university students have spoken out about being afraid to go out at night alone due to incidents of suspected drugging. The statistics on this issue continue to rise but many cases are going unreported due to fear, stigma and a lack of faith in our justice system. Women are often told to change their behaviour, avoid walking alone, watch their drinks and dress differently. However, telling women to do all this almost makes it sound like they are the issue and they are doing something wrong. It is as if we have to accept this kind of behaviour as the norm and change how we, as women, go about our business. Women should never ever have to shoulder the burden of this responsibility. We need stronger legal protections, including harsher penalties for offenders. Education must also play a role as we teach consent, respect and boundaries from an early age. We need safer streets and safer campuses. We need better street lighting, better and more visible policing and free self-defence classes. We can do all this but we need to build confidence in our young women that they will feel safe. In fact, everybody should feel safe on our streets and campuses.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate the fact that we are having this debate this morning. I thank the Minister for that.

Over the last week, we have seen a rise in the conversation about the negative impact social media and the Internet can have on our boys and our young men. This conversation was sparked by the Netflix show "Adolescence". Last week, we also saw two content creators use their platforms to share their own experiences of harassment. I take this opportunity to share Ella Deasy's experience. She moved to on-campus accommodation in University of Limerick in September 2024. Later she found out that a young man had created a TikTok in which he shared his hopes for the year ahead which included throwing eggs at Ella Deasy's house. That of course could have been taken with a pinch of salt but unfortunately it did not end there. It turned out that a WhatsApp group had been created of 200 young men who all wanted to target her house. Frighteningly, they knew not only the house number but the room in which she was living and they congregated at the back of the house outside her window shouting and chanting. She reported this to the accommodation provider but nothing was done at that point. This continued the following night with doorbells ringing in the middle of the night, eggs being thrown at the door and yoghurt being put on the door handle. This continued on over a number of nights. It escalated to attempts to kick in her door. There is no other way of putting this other than to say that this is an incredibly frightening experience. When I heard this story, I found it deeply concerning. What really stuck me was the fact that there was a WhatsApp group with over 200 young men discussing, viewing or participating in it. As Ella said, just imagine 200 boys against one girl. We need to do better for our young women and equally we need to do better for our young men. What strategy will the Minister bring into our colleges to deal with this in terms of education, and also in terms of the ways the universities can deal with these types of issues so that if women receive this type of harassment they have immediate support from their colleges?

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank both Deputies for raising this very important issue. I am glad to have the opportunity to address the House on the matter. I am aware of the media reports being referred to by the Deputies. I am extremely concerned about the issue itself and about the wider issue it spotlights, that of women’s safety on university campuses. This is a matter of critical importance. As I said, I am glad to have the opportunity to address this issue and take this Topical Issue here today.

In Government, I have worked to advance issues concerning women’s safety. Before I was ever a Minister, as a backbench TD I campaigned for the introduction of Coco’s law and brought that through committee when serving as chair of the justice committee in the last term. This included legislation to criminalise sharing of intimate images, as well as combating cyberbullying and many other unacceptable behaviours. I worked with the then Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, to advance legislation on gender-based violence and domestic violence, on women’s shelters, to improve support for victims in sexual abuse trials, and in many other areas where we attempt to advance this cause. As well as the legislative agenda, we had several elective sessions at the committee. I recognise the support of colleagues from all sides of the House and thank them for participating in those engagements.

That was essential to ensuring significant attention and focus was placed on these topics.

It is unequivocally unacceptable and shameful that any woman - indeed any individual - should face harassment of any kind while in their place of study or student accommodation. These are places where people who are typically young, and often vulnerable, are making their initial entry into the world of adulthood. This kind of activity is absolutely abhorrent for anybody to experience. Everyone should feel they have a safe environment in which they can study, free from violence and harassment. More broadly, individuals should feel free to exist, work, study and live their lives free from harassment. This is a basic ask of any society.

It is critical that higher education institutions, and all other places of work and study, take proactive steps when issues of concern are brought to their attention. Deputies will be aware that universities are autonomous under our code in Ireland but I state very clearly on the record of the Dáil that there is an expectation they would take proactive steps. Furthermore, it is clear that, unfortunately, despite best efforts, Ireland is not yet where we need to be on this. That is why the programme for Government stated clearly that tackling the epidemic of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will remain a major priority. My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, will continue the work of his predecessor, Deputy McEntee, in taking this forward.

Government efforts are nationally centred around Cuan, the agency established last year to drive forward progress on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Its establishment was a major milestone and I want to acknowledge that, as well as the work of the previous Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the current Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, going forward in that area.

There are three points I want to highlight with regard to university campuses. The Higher Education Authority, HEA, which is under my remit, works closely with higher education institutions in seeking to promote a campus culture that is safe, respectful and supportive. This is part of Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence 2022-26, which was adopted in the last Dáil. It is assisted by the 2019 framework document for consent in higher education institutions and further led out by individual institution action plans on the issue. All publicly funded institutions have been instructed in this regard and have put in place those plans, or certainly should have done so and be implementing them.

Further, support has been provided in respect of sexual violence and harassment prevention and response manager posts, with 16 individuals appointed to these positions. These are now in higher education institutions and that is a really significant leap forward. Those posts did not previously exist and those 16 people are now tasked with addressing these types of behaviours and proactively preventing them from occurring, as well as creating environments where such behaviours are unacceptable. They drive forward prevention and response efforts on sexual violence and harassment. My Department provides funding of €1.5 million for these posts.

The Speak Out online anonymous reporting tool is in place for staff, students and visitors of higher education institutions to report incidents of harassment or bullying. The office was recently established in Trinity College Dublin and is funded by my Department.

In short, I am equally abhorred and shocked by these reports. I hope my initial remarks have shown my commitment that of my Department to tackle this behaviour across the board.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate the Minister is taking this seriously. I can hear that from the background he has and from what he has said here today. I appreciate and welcome this.

We must ensure we have an absolute zero-tolerance approach. My concern, however, is that despite having Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence 2022-26, we are nearing the end of that period and are seeing the number of cases rise. I commend Ella and others who have come forward and shared their experiences because, as we know, we only hear of certain experiences; we do not hear of all of them. I ask the Minister to make this an absolute priority in his time in the role. I can see and hear he is taking this seriously and I welcome that.

We undoubtedly have an epidemic when it comes to violence, abuse and harassment of women and we need to deal with and take this seriously. We need a holistic approach to this. When we talk about education, this needs to be for everyone. What was clear from this story was that the supports were not there and Ella did not feel she had support from the university or the accommodation provider. It is clear we need to look at how this is dealt with at every single level. Of course, we need to do everything in our power to ensure women are safe on campuses. It is not just about feeling safe; it is about being safe and ensuring we are all safe.

I appreciate the Minister's remarks. It is something an Teachta McGettigan and I will continue to raise and work on. Let us hope we can get a good resolution out of it.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Farrell for acknowledging the work that is ongoing. This is a cross-party issue; I do not believe it is a political issue at all. I appreciate her approach to this and I share and reciprocate that.

There are several plans in place, which we have spoken about. Some of those are due to expire in the next year or two but they are typically incremental and we continue to grow and implement them. Insofar as I can while respecting their autonomy, I have made very clear my expectations of the institutions. I have undertaken a road trip to visit various institutions since coming into the brief. When it comes to the student experience, being safe from harassment should be the minimum standard expected in student accommodation and student life. The quality of the education and life experience for those going through a university or another HEI is paramount in the context of my commitment to this brief. It is something I will be engaging on further in due course.

We have the Zero Tolerance strategy. It was an ambitious strategy when adopted and it remains clear. The name of the strategy calls it out. We cannot tolerate, accept, condone or downplay harassment or behaviour of any kind that threatens student well-being. There is no place for sexual violence, gender-based violence or harassment in Ireland, nor the attitudes underpinning such behaviour. Sexual violence is, of course, the worst possible, but we should not have any tolerance for gender-based violence, misogyny or any kind of behaviour on that spectrum. That will be my approach.

Unfortunately, since St. Patrick's Day we have seen a spotlight placed on toxic masculinity due to the contemptuous bravado of certain high-profile individuals who perhaps think they are above the law. I fully support comments made by my colleagues in government condemning this behaviour. Aggression and misogyny in any form should never be normalised or considered in any way acceptable.

As I said, higher education institutions are autonomous and I respect that but the welfare of students must be a priority at all publicly funded institutions. We have ongoing robust evidence-based procedures and policies in place to ensure dignity, respect and freedom from bullying and harassment. This does not mean we have done enough, however, I will continue to do all I can in this brief to ensure the safety, priority, dignity and well-being of students.