Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a landmark day because we will now have a domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency. There will be a chief executive who will speak on the airwaves, engage in national debate and advocate for what is needed. The Minister knows that we have advocated in all of our areas for what is needed, but this agency is going to fight for that too. The Minister is providing the funding for this through the Department of Justice. I know that the Istanbul Convention is about zero tolerance but the actions of this Government are very clear around zero tolerance. We have to acknowledge that in today's world we are nowhere near that. We deal on a daily basis in our constituency offices with women who are in very difficult circumstances, in fear for themselves and for their children. The establishment of an agency like this speaks volumes to those women. It is about equal rights and rights for every citizen in this country. The establishment of this agency, the legislation the Minister has introduced to double sentences and the stand-alone Acts on issues like stalking and non-fatal strangulation are sending a message out there. That is what we need to do. We need to talk about this. We need the chief executive to be out there speaking and advocating for what we need.

This problem exists in rural areas as well as urban areas. It does not matter what background a person has, what socioeconomic circumstances a person is facing or what place a person is living in - domestic violence can happen to anyone and in anyone's life. When an information session was held in my home town of Ballinasloe, women, the community garda, representatives of COPE Galway and Aoife Kyne from the Men's Development Network all spoke about men overcoming violence and dealing with anger and emotions, and about men who are involved in these situations taking action. It is also the case that this can happen to men.

This Bill gives hope to people who sometimes cannot even come to those meetings. I heard the story of a woman who said she had to be careful when she drove her car to meetings because the kilometres on the car were being monitored. I do not claim to imagine what it is like for women who live in those circumstances. As a country, we have to stand up and say that there is a choice and that what we are doing here will make a difference for those women. I congratulate the Minister because it is a landmark to get this legislation across the line. The chief executive and the agency will fight for refuge places in towns across this country where they are so sorely needed.