Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Bainim fáilte a chuir roimh an Aire agus fáilte a chuir roimh an reachtaíocht atá os ár gcomhair anocht. I welcome the Minister to the Seanad. As other colleagues have already said, this Bill is very welcome. The main focus of it is protecting the victims of serious crime and ensuring that two particularly brutal and violent actions, namely, non-fatal strangulation and suffocation, are brought into the legislation, as well as ensuring that there are laws that deal with these serious and terrifying crimes. Both are now stand-alone offences. This legislation is coming from a Government commitment that it will implement a zero tolerance strategy, particularly with regards to violence, stalking, domestic violence, sexual violence and violence against women and to tackle effectively organised crime. It is also very welcome in respect of those various commitments. Any measures that could support victims of stalking, harassment, gender-based violence and organised crime is of course to be welcomed. The Bill also includes new measures to address stalking and harassment. The proposed measures to deal with stalking, particularly naming stalking as an offence, lift its public profile and that is also important.In doing so, people are more inclined to report it and realise the gravity of stalking for the person being stalked. We know that stalking ruins lives, it causes devastating psychological distress and sometimes, as we know all too well, tragically, worse again.

Under this Bill, anyone convicted of the new stalking offence will face up to ten years in prison. I too, like Senator Wall, want to commend Eve McDowell and Una Ring on their tireless campaigning to make stalking a stand-alone offence, and thank organisations like Safe Ireland and Women's Aid and the many people who have advocated and worked hard to bring this Bill to the point we are at this evening. I also wish to acknowledge the work of our Seanad colleague, Senator Chambers, and other female Members of the House for their work on these issues.

The Bill also provides for court orders restraining stalking behaviour alongside protections for victims during the court process. That too, as we know from other deliberations around justice legislation, is an important aspect of this Bill and the change that is needed. I am glad to see that the Bill will allow victims to obtain these orders with the changes made by the legislation we are discussing here. The introduction of special measures within the courts to protect victims of stalking, harassment and non-fatal fatal strangulation is also welcome because it will offer some protection to victims who must face the assailant in court settings.

There are other aspects of this Bill, which is broad in its make-up, as the Minister has outlined. I am sure parts of it will be examined in greater detail as it progresses through the House. For now, on Second Stage, I want to say that this Bill overall is a significant and positive step in the right direction, and I and Sinn Féin support it.