Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-12 ============================================================ Lorraine Clifford-Lee (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach I welcome the opportunity to debate this important issue. As most Members of the House know, it is a topic I am passionate about. As has been outlined, domestic and gender-based violence is a scourge on society. We need a whole-of-society approach to eliminating this scourge and we need men involved in the conversation. We need positive role models. We need to highlight and tackle the issue and not sweep it under the carpet as happened here for so many years. The Domestic Violence Act 2018 was groundbreaking legislation. Coercive control was introduced by that Act for the very first time. It came into effect on 1 January 2019. It was one of the first laws in Europe to specifically criminalise patterns of psychological and controlling abuse within intimate relationships. Examples such as isolating people from family and friends, controlling money and access to essentials and the monitoring of phone and social media accounts are all recognised as abusive behaviours. Putting that into law for the first time was groundbreaking and opened people's eyes to what abuse is. I am proud of the role that I played in introducing that legislation. Fine Gael did not want it introduced at the time. I remember dealing closely with Senator Higgins and then Senator Bacik. The three of us met the Minister. We dug in our heels and, ultimately, it was included in the Act. However, there was significant pushback from the minority Government of the time. Thankfully, the numbers allowed us to get that through. I am glad that the Minister now in place is very responsive to this issue. That legislation change the narrative and began recognising the behaviours as abusive and criminal. There have been 25 convictions to date and every time one of those convictions happens, I am very happy and proud of the work I have done. That legislation changed the lives of 25 women and their children. It protects women and opens others to recognising abusive behaviour. As I said, I am happy that the Minister is layering on top of that work. He is very responsive on the issue of gender-based violence in society. He has run with Jennie's law and has clutched it with both hands. I commend Jason Poole on the work he has done in honour of his sister, Jennifer, who was murdered by a man who had previous convictions for abuse. It is important to say that abusers do not change their spots. Once an abuser, always an abuser. People need to know the background of the people they have in their lives and in their children's lives. This legislation is a significant step forward for the protection of women and children in this country. Valerie's law also is a very important step forward. Somebody who murders the mother of their children does not deserve guardianship because such people do not, and will never, have the interests of their child at heart if that is something they do. I take the point made by Senator Tully that there are other instances of serious abusive and harmful behaviour that should warrant the removal of guardianship. That should be examined by the Minister and his officials. The expansion of refuge places is to be welcomed. I know it is an issue on which he is working hard. I was particularly happy to hear the announcement of a new refuge in my constituency. In Balbriggan, 13 emergency accommodation units are going to be opened. There will also be ancillary services. That is very welcome. I have spoken to the Minister about that issue in the past, even in his role as Opposition spokesperson as far back as 2016. It is not uniform across the country. Other Senators have pointed out the severe lack in other areas. I know this is a matter to which the Minister is committed. He is delivering in north County Dublin and I know he will deliver in other parts of the country. The publication of the zero-tolerance national strategy is very welcome. It has to be front and centre of the work of the Department of justice and must reach into other Departments to allow for a national conversation. We need action. We cannot all be standing up in this Chamber every so often to talk about this issue. We need action, and I know the Minister is taking action. The national conversation that we must have must centre around a number of things, but access to violent and degrading pornographic material is crucial. Our young boys and young men are exposed to this from a very young age and it is having a harmful effect on their own development and on young girls and young women in Irish society. On the subject of the national conversation we must have about violence and abusive behaviour, I commend Jacqueline Connolly, sister of Clodagh Hall and aunt of Liam, Niall and Ryan Hall, on her contribution in highlighting the abuse suffered by Jacqueline and her children. They were murdered by the violent abuser, Alan Hall, in their home in 2016. It was a watershed moment in one way but, very troublingly, the narrative that emerged from that incident was that it was something that we needed to tackle. Unfortunately, other women and their children have been murdered in their own homes and we are not yet at a place where women and their children are safe in their own homes. This is something we should have as a whole-of-society priority. There are issues around the manosphere and misogyny, as well as the online forums promoting violence, far-right ideology and abuse towards women. Senator Flynn touched on that. I will turn to women in Northern Ireland. It is the most dangerous place in Europe for women. It is a matter I have spoken about on a number of occasions. I would like the Minister to deal with his Northern Irish counterpart to address the issue. It is a toxic hangover from the Troubles. The abusive practices of paramilitaries and a society ruled by violence and secrecy have seeped into society. I know the Minister is committed to the new family law court complex in Hammond Lane. It has been a bugbear of mine and I look forward to its development. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. 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