Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-12
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Eileen Flynn (IND), Administrative Panel

I welcome this motion and thank the Fianna Fáil Senators for bringing it forward. I notice there are few men in the Chamber. We need men to be part of the discussion of this issue. I want to highlight that. The zero-tolerance strategy committed to delivering at least 280 refuge spaces by 2026. The Council of Europe states that a country of Ireland's size needs at least 500 units. We are nowhere near that target. Women turned away from refuges do not disappear. They go back to their abuser, face homelessness and in many cases go back to a more aggressive situation. I welcome this motion and I highlight that Coco's Law, which came into force in 2021, was a step in the right direction. There has been an increase in cases since 2024. In 2025, it was up by 75 cases and I welcome that. It is brilliant. Again, it is only a step. As Senator Comyn said, it is ridiculous that in 2026 we are still having this discussion about safe spaces for women and children.
I am sure the Minister is aware of this, but I will bring his attention to the Dublin Rose of Tralee who was announced last week. Since then, that woman has experienced some level of racial abuse online because of her religion and because of how she dresses. People are telling her she is not Irish. Now, she is a really strong woman, and she does not have to define her Irishness, as she herself said. I stand in solidarity with her. There are few supports to protect women online. We really need a law that can protect all women online, not just public representatives or high-profile women, but all women. For the past month, I have been living in hell with abusive comments from men calling me nothing but names for how I look. Out of pure spite I am wearing a tracksuit today. I will dress and speak the way I want to myself. Of course I am proud to be Irish, but no matter what I stand for, and I stand up for everything these men in the far right stand against, I am always going to be attacked for that. These people are trying to bully me out of public life. It is not going to happen.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:55+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-12