Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

He is very welcome in our county and we acknowledge that. The measures that he is proposing are important and it is about protecting victims and protecting survivors from re-victimisation and re-traumatisation. Allowing the court to prohibit the accused from personally cross-examining victims and children when they are giving evidence during a trial is so important. It is quite barbaric when one thinks about it. It is important that this is accepted.

When we talk about the suite of measures in today's Irish Examinerthere is an article about the courts system. In some cases victims of domestic violence wait four months to be able to get a court safety order. It is evident that we need more judges but when one thinks of that postcode lottery in terms of looking for a safety order to protect oneself and one's children, it is simply not good enough that in this day and age it can take up to four months. When we talk about the suite of measures, that is one of the areas that has to be looked at as well. I thank the Minister for his time and appreciate it.