I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This is simple legislation. It is a small step to support victims and survivors of sexual violence. It comes directly from the experience of victims and survivors. This is their Bill. It is a testament to their courage, persistence and strength to deliver change for others. In particular, I thank Sonya Stokes, Leona O'Callaghan and Shaneda Daly, who worked with me on this Bill. I welcome them and others who will be joining us in the Public Gallery for this debate this evening. I also thank all those who have expressed their support for this Bill, including Rape Crisis Ireland and Women's Aid. This Bill simply provides that at the same time as someone is convicted of a crime of sexual violence, a court can impose an order restraining that person who is convicted of the offence from approaching the victim in the case. The provision currently exists in harassment legislation in section 28 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 but it is not currently available to victims of sexual violence. We know that only a small percentage of those who experience sexual violence get justice; that has to change. For that small percentage who get to court, it is often a difficult and traumatic process. Court cases take too long. There are insufficient resources to support every victim or ensure that they have equal access to accompaniment at court. Many feel that is they rather than their attacker who is on trial. We know that the disclosure of counselling notes adds hugely to the trauma of the judicial experience. The justice committee has called for the full ban on the disclosure of counselling notes and I hope that the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, will listen to survivors and to the committee and ensure that is reflected in the legislation being brought forward by him. Where there is a conviction, that is not the end for victims and survivors. In fact, that is where the long and often difficult journey to rebuild their lives starts. Victims of rape, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse have spoken to me about the anxiety, stress and fear they feel as their assailants come to the end of their sentences. They fear contact from their perpetrators and they fear encountering that perpetrator as they go about their day-to-day lives. They have told me about the impact this has on their lives, how they feel they are on a countdown clock to the release of that person. Victims and survivors have said very clearly to me that they want to know the perpetrator in their case will not be able to speak to them, will not be able to approach them and will not be able to harass them. I will give the example of just one survivor to show why this Bill matters. It is one of the many emails I received this week. In this case, after enduring the process of giving statements and completing a rape kit, her attacker was actually released on bail and then went on the run. It took six years for the case to come to court. Her attacker was sentenced to four years and served just two. This is what she said happened after his release: After his release he later attempted to follow me on social media. I was shocked. I immediately contacted my Garda liaison and local station to report it, but I was told that there wasn't enough evidence to be raised in any appeals or hearings he might have. Instead, I was told that I would need to apply for a barring order myself. This enraged me. How could I, the victim of rape, not only endure six years of waiting, a minimal sentence and even a quicker release, but also be told that I needed to apply for a barring order, that there wasn't enough evidence of him attempting to contact me. It was disgraceful and still is. It is the experiences of this woman and many others who have approached TDs from all political parties this week that we must listen to. I ask all TDs to listen to the testimonies of victims and survivors, listen to their experiences and above all listen to their demands and ensure that we pass Second Stage of this Bill tonight and make it law.

Sentiment score: -0.20

I thank every TD who has contributed to this debate this evening and the many TDs who contacted me in the course of the day to indicate their support for this Bill. I also thank the Minister and Government for allowing this Bill to pass on Second Stage. There are issues more important that political games. It would have been possible for Government parties to play political games and table a delaying amendment, and I acknowledge that they did not. I also acknowledge that the Minister stayed for the entirety of this debate. Most senior Ministers run off as soon as their contribution in a debate such as this is over. I want to ensure, and ask, that that spirit continues. I want us all to make a resolution for 2026 that this Bill will be law by this time next year. Of course, I accept that the purpose of the next Stages of the Bill is that amendments can be brought forward that would improve the Bill. It is transposing something from the harassment legislation into the sexual violence sphere. I hope we can explore on Committee Stage whether we can find a mechanism that would ensure that a civil protection order against a perpetrator could be imposed by a judge for a lifetime period, and my appeal to the Minister and to Government is to be constructive as we tease out all of these issues. Something Ministers have said repeatedly tonight is that there needs to be added value. The added value is that by passing this Bill we can say clearly to victims and survivors, "We hear you, we see you and when you point out failings in the system to us, we will act." I thank again all of those organisations that have indicated support of this Bill. I thank Sinn Féin for allowing me to utilise our Private Members' time to progress it. I thank Caoilfhionn Ní Dhonnabáin in my own office for working so hard on bringing forward this important proposal. I thank my party colleagues, particularly Deputy Máire Devine, our junior spokesperson on domestic and gender-based violence issues and Senator Maria McCormack, who is a determined and fierce advocate for vulnerable people in her constituency and, indeed, everywhere. I thank Maria, especially, for introducing me to three of the most powerful people I have ever met. Sonya Stokes, Leona O'Callaghan and Shaneda Daly are forces of nature. They set out to me in stark terms why this legislation is required. By telling their stories, they brought their perpetrators to justice. In doing that, they did the State - all of us - a great service. That should be all we have to ask of them but I was struck by the words of Leona O'Callaghan. I ask the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach to indulge me while I recite those words verbatim: You know, we've done enough when we’ve done that. But what I've also done ... is ... put myself in the firing line when he gets out, because he's going to want revenge on the very people that took his freedom for so long. And I worry that he spends most days thinking about what he will do to the people who put him where he is. And I would love the protection of a protection order. If I was protected against him as a child, I'd have had a very different life. Everything would have been so different. And society couldn't protect me from that because these monsters exist and they're clever and we don't see them for what they are before they do it. But now we know who he is and we know what he does. We know how violent he is. And what I'm asking is not for me, because it's too late for me. It can't be retrospective, but for the little Leonas that come after me, that are brave enough to look these people in the eye, relive what they went through, and put them behind jail, and, you know, at that stage, they should have the protection of knowing this man is not allowed to come anywhere near me. He's not allowed to talk to me, he's not allowed to try and communicate with me, ideally, he's not allowed in the very same building as me. That is added value that this Oireachtas can bring to all of these women. My final appeal, in thanking Government for allowing this to move to the next Stage, is let us listen to Leona, Sonya and Shaneda and to all those countless victims and survivors who have told their stories. Let us pass this Bill.

Sentiment score: 0.18