Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I commend my colleague, Senator Cassells, for his words, which were heartfelt and passionate. I welcome this amendment Bill to the house and I appreciate having the opportunity to speak on it. Stalking is more prevalent in Ireland than many of us may believe and it is an insidious and intimidating crime. I commend my colleague, Senator Chambers, on her work in this area and on her tenacity and dedication to representing victims of stalking.

This Bill, as we know, provides for a specific offence of stalking which is characterised as the willful, malicious and repeated following and harassing of another person that creates fear, sadness and anxiety and threatens the safety of the other person. Victims of stalking, like Eve McDowell and Una Ring, have bravely detailed the incredible distress they felt while being subjected to stalking. Unfortunately, they came close to losing their lives. I was humbled today to meet and speak with Eve and Una, who are the true heroes here. Not alone are they going through their personal trauma but they are supporting and helping other victims. They have spent huge time and resources setting up stalking.ie. An action I suggest to everyone is to go to their website and sign their petition. It is very heartwarming to see that almost 1,000 people have signed today since they and Senator Chambers were on the airwaves. They both did campaigning courses and met people from other campaigns. They empowered themselves and empowered others. Over the last few months I have become familiar with their stories from print, radio and television. Their stories are hugely harrowing. Both of their experiences have highlighted the inadequacy that exists in Irish law where protection from stalking is concerned. Listening to them talking about its impact on their lives is quite horrific. In Una's words:

It was the most harrowing experience of my life. To know that I was being hunted and having to constantly look over my shoulder was completely exhausting and debilitating. I used to wake up and think "is this the day that I get abducted, raped and murdered? Is today the day that my kids lose their mam?".

We in the Seanad are here to give voice to those without voices who live in fear of speaking up and speaking out. We are here to argue for and demand proper legislation and appropriate consequences for perpetrators. We are speaking on behalf of women who are at risk and who are holding their lives and safety, and those of their children, in their empty hands.

We can often talk endlessly about statistics and figures which are stark, bleak and disturbing in relation to offences but at present they mean little where stalking is concerned because there is no specific crime of stalking on the Statute Book. That should disturb us because as a society we must be able to record, report and monitor these offences and support these women through the court system. Those of us who have not been through such a situation cannot fully imagine how this can take over your life. The toxic power struggle these women endure is unimaginable but tonight we must, for them, imagine ourselves in such a situation. We must imagine what it is like to be living a life of fear, never to be able to relax in one's own home and never to know what is coming next, whether it will be an assault or an attack. It could be an attack on your children, or indeed your children could witness an attack on yourself. We also need to look at the court system, which is difficult to navigate and terrifying for many women.

We have a duty as legislators to act. This Bill is balanced, is supported by victims and is long overdue. The Law Reform Commission has already recommended that a specific stalking offence should be enacted. This appears to have had a significant practical effect in Scotland, England and Wales since their introduction of similar legislation.

It is important that in this debate we distinguish between an act of harassment and a campaign of stalking. There is a distinct difference between the two. As things currently stand, stalkers are likely to be charged on the basis of having harassed their victims; that is, if they are charged at all. It is important that incidents of stalking are reported urgently to An Garda Síochána and that male or female victims are cautious and take all threats seriously. It was interesting to note the different experiences Una and Eve had with the Garda. Una found huge empathy and dedication to the victim and Eve found the opposite. We must support our gardaí to be empathic and supportive and ensure they get the training that is essential.

We in this House must play our part and give our justice system the powers to deal with stalking appropriately. We must send a strong message to victims that we support them, to perpetrators that their behaviour is absolutely unacceptable and that there will be consequences, and to society that stalking will not be tolerated.