Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Justice and thank her for coming to the House today, as well as for supporting my colleague Senator Chambers in this legislation she has brought to the House. I commend Una Ring, Eve McDowell and every victim and survivor of stalking, abuse, harassment and violence in whatever form it takes.

Right from when she took office, the Minister made it a priority to update the laws and the State's response to victims of abuse and violence. The work she is doing is incredibly important, not just for us today but for people in the future, including our daughters and anyone who could potentially be a victim. The Bill is important. It is important that we call stalking out as a unique crime. It is insidious and invasive and it gets into victims' mental space. Their personal sense of security is invaded, as are their home and workplace, and that is all before the actual physical violence that can occur.

I urge the Minister to take strength and keep doing the work she is doing because it is important. She has outlined how the Government will prioritise prevention, protection, prosecution and policy and that is an important part of this work. We support the Minister in her work and urge her to take this law and pass it through the Dáil as swiftly as possible, and then come back to us with the rest of her work because we are here to support her.