I thank the Minister. I send a céad míle fáilte to the people in the Gallery, including Valerie's brother and sisters, and to SiSi, which is a collective of women survivors of intimate partner violence. I thank them for their unceasing work. Sincere thanks resonate from this Chamber for its protection of women and children as a priority. Sinn Féin welcomes the progression of legislation to restrict guardianship rights in situations where a person has murdered a child's other guardian. I commend Mr. David French, brother of Valerie, who was murdered by her spouse. His love for his sister and nephews, his tenacity and relentless campaigning are largely why we are having this debate today. Déanaim comhghairdeas le David agus a chlann. Mr. French was an integral witness before the Oireachtas justice committee when it conducted pre-legislative scrutiny of the Minister's general scheme. My party colleague and Cathaoirleach of the Oireachtas justice committee, Deputy Carthy, highlighted that it was essential that the committee should hear directly from those ordinary people with real-life experience of the matters being discussed, rather than just from the statutory agencies, NGOs, academics and Government Departments. The insights that Mr. French gave to the committee in respect of the impact that this legislation would have had for his family and the welfare of his nephews were invaluable. The testimony, alongside the written submissions received by the committee, provided for a report on pre-legislative scrutiny that identified a number of areas in need of consideration but which can serve as the basis of a strong and robust piece of legislation. I also commend my party colleague and Sinn Féin finance minister in the Executive in the North, John O'Dowd, who has committed to progressing similar legislation known as "Jade's law". I hope we will have tied-up all-Ireland legislation to enact. What this law will do is to recognise, as David French told the committee, that to murder a parent is to grievously abuse a child. It would facilitate the restriction of guardianship rights from those who kill their partners or the parents of their children. I welcome the Bill that now reflects the concerns of recommendation 2 of the committee's report and provides for a review process in case of a later acquittal of the guardian. That makes sense. However, a number of other areas were touched on in the report and I do not see them reflected in the Bill. Recommendation 3 suggested that parties beyond Tusla, such as relatives, should be able to submit applications to the court. It would be useful if the Minister were to outline his rationale for limiting this to only Tusla. While recommendation 8 does allow for relatives to seek leave to be joined as a notice party, it falls short of the committee's report recommendation that they would be a notice party. Some concern was expressed by the committee regarding the resourcing of Tusla, in particular in relation to the terms of applications generally being time-bound to six months. As such, I think that recommendation 6, which was that a specialist unit be established within Tusla that would have the responsibility of submitting any applications, could bring multiple reassurances in terms of the successful operation of this Bill. It is widely known and accepted that Tusla is under enormous and severe pressure from unprecedented child protection referrals, severe social work shortages and a crisis in emergency placements. Reassurance is needed that it will be competent. At times, it has been found not to be competent. We need reassurance that it will be competent in this instance to act on this legislation as laid out without delay and to act in a fair and equitable manner, given its remit and terms of reference as the Child and Family Agency. Recommendation 4 advocates that a register of guardians be established to aid State bodies. I know that in recent weeks campaigners have been highlighting an issue whereby widowed parents must provide death certificates to the passport service every time the child's passport is renewed. I ask the Minister if this is a matter he may be willing to review, in conjunction with his colleagues, as something that could bring greater benefit. To bring a death certificate every time is a painful and reminiscent requirement. It does not make sense to do it for the length of a child's life until he or she turns 18. I will ask the Minister about his position on recommendation 7, which sought to safeguard that this legislation could not be applied in cases where a person is convicted of manslaughter when acting in self-defence or where there has been a history of domestic abuse towards the alleged perpetrator. I would appreciate if he would address these matters in his closing remarks. Sinn Féin welcomes the progression of this legislation and stands ready to work with the Minister to ensure it is as robust as possible. We hope it will see a swift but detailed passage through committee. I pay tribute to Valerie, a woman, mother, caregiver and professional therapist dedicated to affirming life and love. Cuimhneoimid uirthi. To Valerie.

Sentiment score: 0.16