Guardianship of Infants and Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-24
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Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel

We in Aontú welcome the Bill and the protections it seeks to put in place for children who have already endured unimaginable trauma. The level of cross-party support for this legislation speaks to the shared goal of putting children’s interests and well-being first. I particularly acknowledge the tireless work of David French, along with that of his sister, Veronica. David’s advocacy following the murder of his sister, Valerie, has helped bring us to this point. No child or relative should have to face the additional burden of a parent retaining guardianship rights after murdering the other parent. David deserves enormous credit for ensuring that these children’s voices are heard.
This debate comes at a time when domestic violence continues to cast a long shadow over our society. A report released today from Women’s Aid shows that disclosures of abuse have risen by a third since last year. It estimates that one in three women in Ireland are abused by their partner. For many women and their children, home is not the safe place it should be. While legislation is important, we must also ask whether we are doing enough to prevent violence in the first place. Has the Minister examined further education programmes within An Garda Síochána and our schools? We need to teach young people about healthy relationships, respect and consent long before problems arise.
I also welcome the Minister’s stated intention to tackle violent pornography. However, I ask him to go further and consider stronger measures to prevent children from accessing pornography altogether. While not all pornography involves threats with knives, strangulation or explicit violence, even more mainstream content contains misogyny and aggression and presents women as less than human. It is not healthy for boys or girls to grow up consuming this material and believing that aggression, humiliation or domination are normal parts of sex or relationships. If we are serious about tackling violence against women and girls, then we must also be serious about addressing the messages young people are absorbing online every day. I welcome the Minister’s thoughts in that regard. I thank him for his work on this Bill. It must be noted.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-24