Lynn Ruane (Independent)

I get a sense that the general feeling in the Chamber is not one of support for the Government's amendment. Sometimes, listening to Members from the Government parties speak, one can tell there is not an energy behind wanting to delay something. That can be felt in how Members present their contributions on a topic. I can sense that here today. I encourage colleagues opposite not to provide tellers for the vote on the amendment. Beyond the substance of the issue we are discussing, which I will get to, we all, whether representing the Government or the Opposition, should have faith in the job we do here and in our ability, whether as officials, Departments, experts or legislators, to work together to come to arrangements about legislation between Second and Committee Stages. That is what the legislative process is for. It is about working issues out at each Stage.

For some reason, in the ten years I have been here, a brand-new feature of the legislative process has been created over time by the Government. I refer to the putting forward of timed amendments. That started happening two or three years into my term in the House; it did not exist beforehand. Timed amendments were brought in purposely to delay legislation because the Government did not want to be seen to vote against something about which many people within the parties of government cared, because the parties had policies on it or because they could see the proposal might not align with the intentions of the Government of the day or the relevant Department. This is one of those moments.

As an Independent Senator who has had a lot of my legislation passed in the House, I have always been able to come to arrangements with Departments that I would not table a Bill for Committee Stage until there had been robust engagement on the crux of the proposals and until we had agreement that what the Bill could look like when it came back on Committee Stage, what the operational part would look like and what amendments there might be. I did that with former Ministers Charlie Flanagan and Deputy O'Gorman. All those Bills were passed in this House, having been worked out by way of the normal process. A 12-month delay is not needed. We should have faith in our capabilities and capacity. On my first day in this Chamber, everybody spoke about the need to work collaboratively. Delaying legislation is not working collaboratively. We work collaboratively by recognising legislation on its principles, merits and what it can achieve. The Government might want some changes but that can be worked out between us before Committee Stage. What should not be done is delay the legislation. I ask for some reflection on that in the time we have left. Will the Government allow us to be legislators and have faith that the Department and the Minister will be able to have those discussions between now and Committee Stage without a time delay?

I will not lecture anyone on why this Bill is important. I accept that everybody in the Chamber knows that. I will give some examples of where it comes into play outside of rural areas. Without giving away the locations of refuges, some are in the suburbs of Dublin for people from Dublin Central. One woman I supported refused to go into a refuge because there was no bus route to the suburb of Dublin where it was located. She did not want to disrupt her children's school day because their lives were already disrupted enough. She wanted them still to have one constant in their day, which was the teacher and friends they were used to. She was terrified to take that refuge space because she might not be able to get the children to school. Being unable to get them to school was not just a question of disruption but the worry that Tusla might get involved. All the barriers presented, layer upon layer, and then the panic came and she said she could not go. She needed safety but she was terrified of all the other things that would happen when she sought safety. Sometimes, seeking safety can reduce one's safety.

Those are the types of decisions people are making on a daily basis. I supported a woman years ago when I worked in addiction services who was in a situation where someone had complete financial control of all her payments and access to money. When I asked whether she had access to her children's allowance payment, she said she did not because the State now required a stamp from her child's school to prove the child was still attending school past 15 years of age. There are really vulnerable people who struggle to get their children to school, whether because of additional need or trauma in the household. Over the years, with very little uproar, women's children's allowance payment has been associated with their children still being in school, completely ignoring all the issues a family may face and further pushing vulnerable women into poverty.

There are loads of reasons women do not have the ability to travel, whether to school or appointments. An issue I encountered on many occasions from people trying to leave difficult situations was that when asked why they had not called me or another safe person, they said they did not want to be a burden. They did not want to pull another person in because that person knew their partner's sister, say, and they were terrified the partner would be contacted. All of a sudden, the web of fear cripples the person and prevents them being able to ask for a lift or money for a bus or taxi. People are terrified to pull others into their situation. When they are safe, they may pull more people in but when the ground is moving beneath them, they are afraid.

What is proposed in this Bill is a very conservative measure. When I read it, I wondered whether Senator Stephenson was for real in providing for only three months of free transport. The provision is extremely modest. I ask everybody to pause for a moment. It is not too late for the Government to take a different approach. The Minister's Department, with the will of the Government, can work with Senator Stephenson to ensure the Bill can be operational, is funded and will do what it says on the tin. We do not need a timed amendment to achieve that.