Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)

I strongly support the domestic violence Bill 2025, which is compassionate, practical and deeply necessary legislation that will make real and measurable differences in people's lives. At the heart of this Bill, it is about dignity, as Senator Stephenson said. It is about recognising that when a person, most often a woman, makes the decision to flee a violent home, that decision comes with enormous personal, emotional and financial cost. It is about understanding that the journey to safety should not be one more barrier, one more source of fear or one more bill that pushed a survivor into further hardship. The Bill creates what is being called a safe passage travel scheme. It is a three-month free travel pass. It is three months; it is not 12 years. It is three months to give someone breathing room to try to escape a situation. It is simple, survivor-centred and powerful because sometimes the difference between staying and escaping is something as basic as having the means to go on a bus or train. For many women and children, leaving the home means leaving behind their job, school and community and starting from scratch. Too often, survivors are moved to refuges that are far from their homes and far from the support networks simply because that is where the space is available. Then come the costs of travelling to court hearings, meeting solicitors, going to counselling appointments, bringing children to new schools or simply travelling to work to try to keep a life stable.

Housing supports were mentioned and, yes, emergency housing is well and truly needed for people who are fleeing this, but the emergency housing is for 12 weeks. What can a woman who is fleeing her home do in 12 weeks' time? Nothing. From the women I have been speaking to, I have heard them say they would rather stay in the abuse than face homelessness. That is the reality people are facing on the ground. Therefore, it is well and good to say these supports are here, that it is great and that we are doing it bit by bit, but it is not enough because women are choosing to stay.

I have met with the superintendents in my constituency in Cork North-West. We have the second largest number of domestic incident reports to the Garda. Last year, over 600 incidents were reported, and those are the ones that were reported. The Garda also works with people who do not report incidents and whom it tries to get out of these situations but they are so sensitive and so delicate. Yet, we do not have a refuge. We live in a very rural area. The closest refuge to my constituency is in Cork city. If someone is trying to uproot a family from Charleville to bring them to Cork city, travel is then another barrier because our travel infrastructure in Cork North-West is not great. We do not have great public transport there. It is just ludicrous to think that the Government would push back on something as simple as this.

We know that domestic violence does not just destroy safety. It drives people into poverty. The Bill acknowledges the truth and acts to ease it, providing a lifeline in those fragile first months for someone who has fled violence. What makes the scheme so well designed and thought-out is its emphasis on privacy and trauma-informed access. Survivors will not have to recount their stories again and again to strangers at a ticket desk. The pass will look identical to any other travel pass, and it could be issued discreetly through approved domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence, DSGBV, organisations under Cuan, ensuring that dignity, safety and confidentiality remain at the centre of all of this. That is how policy should be made - empathetically, practically and with respect for people.

I want to take a moment to commend Senator Stephenson and the Cross-Party Group, who brought this forward. Senator Stephenson has been an outstanding advocate for those voices that are too often unheard, survivors from minority groups and all those who live along the shadows of abuse. Her dedication to the domestic violence sector, her sensitivity to the realities faced by the survivors and her ability to bring people together across political lines are to be applauded.We need more legislators like her - people who do not just speak about compassion but build it into law.

This Bill represents what politics can be, which is collaborative, people-focused and rooted in lived experiences. I think about the many women in Cork North-West who have spoken to me about the impossible situations they faced. A mother in Macroom told me she could not take a refuge place in Cork city because she had no way to get her two children to the school. She had to stay in an abusive situation. Another woman spent her first week after fleeing home relying on neighbours to drive her to GP and court appointments. It takes courage to walk way. It is not a simple decision and, for many of these women, it is a life-or-death situation. Women are most in danger when they leave.

The Bill is not proposing to change the whole system. It seeks to make a small, practical change such that survivors can leave without having to worry about the cost of travel. I particularly welcome the provision to include mechanisms for review and gathering feedback from referral bodies and transport providers to ensure the scheme will continue to meet survivors' needs. Those of us working in communities, urban and rural alike, see the gaps in provision every single day. We know how much difference one practical support can make. This safe passage scheme is not a grand gesture. It is not grounded in immediate intervention but it can change lives.

I commend the Bill. I am really disappointed the Government is putting forward a timed amendment. As other Opposition speakers have said, all our Bills are being pushed back by 12 months. It takes ages for legislation to get through this House. There is nothing to stop the Government from letting this Bill proceed. Let it go to Committee Stage, where the Government can make its amendments. Some women will not have 12 months to wait. Women will lose their lives because they will not be able to flee. The Government's amendment is really disappointing. I thank Senator Stephenson and the Cross-Party Group for bringing forward the Bill.