Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am delighted to speak about the first Bill I have introduced in the Seanad. I welcome to the Gallery colleagues from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Safe Ireland and Women's Aid, who have expressed their support for the Bill. It is a modest but vital proposal rooted in one simple idea, namely, that freedom of movement can mean freedom from harm. The Bill will provide survivors of domestic violence and their dependants with three months of free public transport. It is a small, humane intervention for people in crisis, designed to ensure no one is forced to stay with an abuser because he or she cannot afford to leave. It is not radical and it is not expensive but for those trapped by violence, fear and lack of means, it could be transformative. It is the bare minimum we should be doing as a society that claims to have zero tolerance for gender-based violence.

I am deeply disappointed that the Government is proposing a timed amendment to the Bill. It is cynical and it does not bode well for the co-operation and collaboration we aim for across this Chamber. We have seen this practice with several Opposition Bills since the start of this term. The reality is that despite having a zero-tolerance strategy in place, we have seen cases of domestic violence rise year on year. I am not suggesting for one minute that my Bill would fix that but it would help those who are trapped and cannot afford to escape. When presented with a sensible, straightforward Bill, I wonder why the Government is delaying it. Not even allowing it to go to Committee Stage is a little cynical. The whole purpose of Committee Stage is to tease out the implementation aspects of a Bill but the Government is not allowing that. Delaying the Bill stifles room for debating this critical topic, which affects people throughout the country.

If the Government would allow the Bill to proceed to Committee Stage, we would have space in the Chamber to debate these critical matters. Despite the rhetoric of urgency we often hear, there are timed amendments and delays. I find that attitude and approach a little depressing. It can take many years for a woman to make the decision to leave. Why, then, does the Government want to delay a Bill that is designed to support people fleeing domestic violence and reduce their barriers to leaving? Does the Government not consider it a good Bill? Does it not think the issue it addresses is an urgent problem?

In fact, the scale of this problem is significant and increasing. Domestic violence is not rare; it is pervasive and it cuts across income, geography and background. Women's Aid tells us that one in four women has experienced abuse by a current or former partner. When we talk about women leaving, we sometimes discuss it as though it were some sort of single act, as if a woman simply packs a bag one day and walks out the door. Those of us who have listened to survivors know it is rarely that simple and straightforward. Research shows a woman will endure abuse for years before leaving and will attempt to leave multiple times before she is able to break free. Why is that so? The reason is that leaving is so dangerous. Leaving often escalates the violence and can mean losing one's home, income and sense of self. All too often, the State makes it harder, not easier, to go. Limited refuge spaces and a failed housing policy make it very hard for women to leave because they do not know where they will end up.

Another reason it is hard to leave is that leaving often has a cost. When we talk about poverty in the context of domestic violence, we usually mean financial poverty. That is real and it is crushing. Abusers often control access to money, transport, telephones and work. Survivors are told they will not survive without the abuser. There are also other forms of poverty. There is the poverty of isolation when an abuser cuts a woman off from her friends and family, when she no longer has anyone to call and when she cannot risk a lift from a friend because he might see. There is poverty of opportunity where a woman cannot get to her job, college or her child's school event because she has no car, no fare and no safe way to travel. There is poverty of time when every single hour is spent navigating fear, searching for safe routes and waiting for someone to call back. There is poverty of self-esteem when a woman is told for so long that she is worthless that she begins to believe it. This Bill cannot undo all of that but it can start to chip away at those barriers by giving survivors mobility, connection and a small bit of independence.

Domestic violence rarely affects just one person. Children live it, too. They may not always be hit but they are always harmed. Children who grow up with domestic violence can experience anxiety, depression and difficulties in school. When a mother leaves, she is not just saving herself; she is saving her children's future. That is why the Bill extends the free travel provision to children and dependants. For a child, a train ticket might mean getting to school safely, attending counselling or visiting relatives who can provide comfort and stability.

Throughout history, controlling women's mobility has been a means of controlling women's lives. When a woman cannot move freely and cannot leave her home, town or country, can we say she is free? In rural Ireland, especially, transport poverty is an incredibly gendered issue. Women are more likely to rely on public transport but less likely to have access to frequent or affordable services. If a woman is living in a small village with no car and her abuser controls the money, even getting to the nearest refuge can seem impossible. The Bill recognises that mobility is safety and that a ticket can be a lifeline.

As a social democrat, I believe in a society where public services provide real freedom and the State enables people to live safely and with dignity. This Bill very much embodies that principle. It does not rely on charity or chance. It relies on the State to step up, as it should, to remove one barrier that keeps women trapped. Social democracy means recognising that violence against women is not a private issue but a structural one. Domestic violence thrives when there is inequality. It is our duty to remove every barrier we can to create a more equal society. By creating a clear, accessible pathway of free travel for survivors, we make the State not just a responder to violence but a partner in recovery.

I acknowledge the work being done under the national zero-tolerance policy. The recent progress on co-ordination, the setting up of Cuan, the commitment to data collection and the funding for services are all very important. However, the reality is stark and the numbers continue to rise. Far too often, we see news reports of women murdered by their partners or ex-partners. Refuges are full. Women and children fleeing domestic violence do not have access to sustainable, long-term housing options. Nine counties still do not have dedicated refuge spaces, meaning even longer distances must be travelled and women are placed further away from any supports they may have. There is an additional expense that comes from that.

Given that these services do not exist, why will the Government not allow this very modest Bill to proceed? It is especially important for those families who are in need of support right now, not in 12 or 24 months' time. Women and children fleeing domestic violence are some of the most vulnerable in our society. They are among the worst impacted by the continuing housing emergency. The Government cannot keep repeating the concept of zero tolerance while women are forced to remain in danger because the system moves too slowly or the price of a bus or train ticket stands between them and safety. Zero tolerance must mean zero barriers.

That is what the Bill aims to achieve. Transport should be a lifeline, not a luxury. We have seen how free travel for students, older people and people with disabilities opens doors, creates connection and restores people's dignity. The Bill applies that same logic to survivors of domestic violence. It proposes that for three months, survivors will not have to worry about how to get to where they need to go. They can take the bus to their refuge, to their GP, to their solicitor, to court and to their child's new school. They can rebuild their life.It is a really short window but it can make the difference between despair and recovery. The cost of this intervention would be fairly minimal to the State. Currently, the average amount allocated to each potential user, specifically the main card holder and the companion on the free travel scheme, is estimated at €55 per person per annum.

This Bill allocates a free travel pass for three months. Given the principle of the Bill, it is likely that people fleeing domestic violence would use this pass more frequently due to the upheaval in their lives, as they try to start a new life free from violence. We conservatively estimate a €55 cost per person for three months. Women's Aid reported that it made 6,424 refuge and local domestic violence referrals in 2024. The likely cost of the proposal, therefore, would be about €350,000 if every single one of those referrals made use of the three-month pass. It is unlikely that every single person would use it, but even if we were to double that, a cost of €700,000 per year is the upper end of the probable cost of this Bill. That is a very small cost to the State when weighed against the potential to save lives, protect children and help survivors to rebuild.

Leaving is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of a long and often lonely process of recovery. There are practical hurdles such as finding housing, securing income, accessing counselling and rebuilding relationships, but there is a really profound emotional and psychological journey that comes with it too. Survivors must learn to trust again, hope again and believe that they can be safe. Mobility and the ability to move freely and to travel without fear is part of that recovery. It restores people's agency and gives them empowerment. Three months of free travel will not solve every problem by any means or stretch of the imagination, but it does send a powerful message that the State believes them and believes they deserve the empowerment and autonomy to rebuild their life and to live freely.

Sometimes progress is not made through really grand gestures but in small acts of decency that make survival a little bit easier. This Bill is one such act. It costs little but it would mean so much to the people who access it. It is an acknowledgement by the State that leaving is hard and rebuilding is hard but we trust them, we believe in them and we want to support them. It acknowledges that safety is not only about locks and alarms but also about access, connection and opportunity. It recognises that women do not live their lives in isolation and that when we support survivors, families and communities will prosper in the future.

So often in instances of domestic violence a woman will experience coercive control, psychological abuse and financial abuse. She will be isolated from her loved ones, friends and family. This will offer people an opportunity to rebuild those connections and relationships with parents, grandparents, friends and family who they might not have seen or been connected to for many years.

Some people might say that a refuge will pay for a taxi and ask whether that is not a solution. However, if people have to go to a counter or call a phone number every time they need to get to A, B or C, it means they have to ask for permission when they need to do this or that. People who have spent much of their lives being controlled in an coercive, abusive relationship should not have to call up somebody and ask permission for a taxi fare. They should have the power to do that themselves and move freely. That is fundamentally what this Bill is about. It is restoring people's agency and their dignity after it has been stripped away for so long.

None of us can undo the violence that has already happened but we can change the systems that make it harder to escape. This Bill is a small but concrete expression of solidarity. It is the State saying that it will meet them halfway on the road to safety. For too long, that road has been too long, too expensive and too lonely. With this Bill, I ask us to shorten the road and make it free to travel.