Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I understood what the Minister of State was saying but to sit in a room with your abuser, not being cross-examined by them but sitting an a room with them and being obligated to be cross-examined by the ombudsman, could be a very re-traumatising incident, especially in cases with an active protection order, of which there might be very few. We might not be seeing many on an annual or five-year basis but it is really about having that protection built in to how the process works. If someone has a protection order against another person and they are going into this procedure, it would be an incredibly re-traumatising experience. That is why I suggested this.