An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2020-11-10
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Erin McGreehan (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I welcome the Cathaoirleach's invitation to President-elect Biden. It is great news for Ireland that we have such a steadfast supporter of the Good Friday Agreement in the White House. As other Senators have said, we need all the support that we can get coming up to a critical time in the Brexit negotiations. As Biden is a Border politician from the Cooley Mountains he will know very well how important an all-Ireland economy is and how important the Border community is.
On a lighter note, the west tried to steal something from the Cooley Mountains a long time ago, and it ended in destruction. We must learn from our past and not relive the story of the Táin Bó Cúailnge.
On a serious note, I ask the Leader to invite whichever Minister is responsible, whether it is the Minister for Justice or the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, to come into this House and report on the audit on how the responsibility for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is segmented across different Government agencies. This is mentioned in the programme for Government. It was said that a report would be issued within nine months of the formation of Government. As Senator Keogan has said, this is very important. I am on the board for Women's Aid in Dundalk and we cannot help every family or every woman who comes knocking on the door. It really is important that we have a dedicated Department that will take over responsibility for dealing with domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2020-11-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-11-10