Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Senator Chambers for bringing this legislation to the House. We were fortunate enough to meet the protagonists, Una and Eve, today. I understand the Senator heard them on the radio, contacted them and was able to support them in their mission to get to this stage. They must be thanked. The women of Ireland owe them huge gratitude for being so brave. We are also grateful to Senator Chambers for running with them and supporting them through the legislative process to where we are today.

I listened to many of the speeches downstairs in my office. I was really taken aback, especially by Senator Cassells's remarks on how it is very important that the men in our lives - our brothers, fathers and friends - realise it is a little bit different for us. If we were to leave Leinster House today and cross the city, we would probably not be as relaxed as many of our male counterparts would. That being said, we have a beautiful and very safe city and I am glad I live here.

It has been shown in Scotland that bringing in this type of legislation gives women the confidence to report instances of stalking. If we as legislators fail to bring in this legislation, it will almost be like some sort of State-sponsored gaslighting of women. We heard from Eve and Una today that gardaí would sometimes ask them whether the individuals in question actually harmed them. Eve and Una replied that they did not actually harm them, but they were crossing their paths a few times a day, including where they worked. One of them told us how she was second-guessing whether she should be a victim here. That is wrong. That is what happens in a relationship, but what we are seeing is almost a State-sponsored gaslighting of women. It is really important that we put an end to it and listen to women, as many of my colleagues have said. We are not all victims but we have smaller physical frames and we are generally more vulnerable to attack. We probably do not really say that because we like to feel we are strong but we are made differently and we are more vulnerable. We want to feel safe in our cities and in our homes and we have the absolute right to do so. This legislation is very neat and goes a small way towards vindicating women's rights. It is a language change that redefines harassment and ensures it has its own place in legislation. It must be done. I commend this legislation to the House and congratulate my colleagues for supporting it and bringing it before us.