Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend my county colleague, Senator Martin, on drafting this Bill and bringing it together. With his legal expertise and political experience, we have no doubt about the robustness of the Bill. It is important to have this debate and speak about domestic violence, which is a scourge not just in this country but across Europe and the world. As we know from statistics, during and after Covid, the numbers went completely sky-high. We must do everything we can do to increase the protection of victims and help them on their journey. The Istanbul Convention is important in that regard, which states that we should invest time and money in four areas - prevention, protection, prosecution and policy co-ordination. We must support all of our domestic violence refuges. They are havens for those who need them, many of whom bring children. I mention again Teach Tearmainn in Kildare, which does an absolutely wonderful job.

Violence against women, unfortunately, happens in many forms. The scale, as we know, is extensive. Organisations like Women's Aid and Safe Ireland do an excellent job in supporting victims. Unfortunately, there is a cultural issue in that some men believe women should be controlled by them, should be submissive to them and that violence and coercive control are acceptable ways of achieving those aims. We have to do everything we can to change that through education and many different ways and having the conversation with men and boys. We need a dramatic change in the views of those men, what they see as acceptable and what their sons may then see as acceptable. We see this perpetuating itself. As a party, Fianna Fáil supports this Bill. We are also working with external stakeholders to see how we can bring about that change from all different angles, how we can change the culture of misogyny to respect, what improvements are needed across the legal system to support victims and their families and ensure access to justice, and perhaps to look at unexplored avenues to better support women in the workplace, in their homes and communities, and online. When a woman or indeed a man suffers domestic violence, it takes a huge toll on every single aspect of their lives. Navigating the judicial and legal system is very difficult. We need to do everything we can. I fully support this Bill. I look forward to the next Stage of the domestic violence register legislation, which I have brought to Second Stage. We need to bring it to the next Stage. I look forward to when the Minister can come in and we can debate that.