Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá fáilte roimh an Aire. Cosúil le Seanadóirí eile, cuirim fáilte roimh an reachtaíocht ar an gcéim seo. I had intended just to echo the sentiments of support for this legislation and what it seeks to do but it struck me listening to Senator Chambers that I have a technical question, if that is in order. I hope it does not expose my ignorance in comparison to some of my more learned friends.

The Senator rightly mentioned the legislation going through the Assembly, led by the Minister of Justice there. It will allow for similar laws to be brought into effect. Will these Bills, when they become law, have the potential to run in parallel as opposed to overlapping and complementing each other? As Senator Chambers said, someone living in Cavan could be stalking somebody in Fermanagh and vice versa. If a woman or anyone else is being subject to this crime in the other jurisdiction, how should he or she report it? Should it be reported to the Garda or, if the person is in the North, the PSNI? How would that happen? Has the Department looked at that? If not, could it work through the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council to engage with the Justice Minister Naomi Long. On the back of today's debate, I will encourage her to do likewise.

The legislation is welcome. I support it and it will be effective. We need to make sure it is as effective as it can be. That is something we could look at as this Bill proceeds and goes through the Dáil as well. If the Minister does not have that information, maybe she can correspond with me.