Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for her contribution and what she is trying to address here. I have met with Safeguarding Ireland and I understand that there are a lot of vulnerable people who need further protection in two ways - looking at it from a criminal justice side and making sure all the right rules, regulation and oversight are in place where you have vulnerable people. It is not just in certain settings. It can also extend to the home where you might have a parent-child relationship or vulnerable people interacting with other adults.

The coercive control legislation was brought in in recent years and was very specific to that intimate partner relationship. A lot of work was done with An Garda Síochána, victims and others to make sure that, as was set out, it was clear and it worked. The fact that we are starting to see convictions is very positive and, hopefully, will encourage more people to come forward. I agree fully with the Senator that coercive control does not just apply to those in partner relationships be they married couples or partners. It can and does happen beyond that.

While I cannot accept the amendment today because I believe we need further engagement with An Garda Síochána, the DPP and other organisations that work in this space, including Safeguarding Ireland, what I can commit to is that we will start that process - engaging with An Garda Síochána first, looking at the work that has been done because a huge amount of work has been done through Safeguarding Ireland and others and seeing how we can progress this and where there are gaps because some of the behaviours mentioned in the amendment are already covered in what we are doing here for harassment and stalking. I thank the Senator for her amendment and look forward to working with her on this over the next few months.