Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-30
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I thank Deputy Coppinger for raising this issue and this case again, and I say that sincerely. I know the intense and constructive ways in which she has been engaging to try to support this student. I say that before I say the next piece, which is I am genuinely not 100% sure how to answer this question, for the reason that I am conscious, based on what she has told me now and what she has said previously in this House, that there are parts of this that may require due process. There are very clear laws in this country, quite rightly, regarding rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual violence. An Garda Síochána are the people who enforce those laws and no part of Irish society, no matter what kind of governing structure anybody has or academic autonomy or anything else, is independent of or separate from those laws. I need to be very conscious of that, and I am not being in any way critical of the Deputy, but when it comes to referring to a rapist or a rape victim, there are places outside of the Dáil where, quite rightly, importantly and appropriately, those issues should be determined and established.
I join the Deputy in commending all the students who stood up and spoke up for zero tolerance when it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The Deputy made the point that it was not just women or female students at that protest but it was also men because men cannot recuse themselves from this huge epidemic in Ireland as regards sexual violence. I fully agree with her in a broad sense that every college, workplace and educational setting has an absolute duty to be a safe environment. I remember from my own time as Minister for higher education a significant body of work that was under way in the universities in that regard. Therefore, I am concerned and disappointed - and it is an understatement - to hear some of what the Deputy has told me here today.
I am conscious the Deputy has also said some of this is not straightforward in terms of the academic piece. I acknowledge that and I know the Minister, Deputy Lawless, had an engagement with the student, quite properly, on foot of the Deputy raising this issue here. I will speak to the Minister again and perhaps there is an opportunity to engage with the governing authority as well as the college. I will ask the Minister to come back to Deputy Coppinger directly.
The final thing I will say is that this House has quite rightly taken serious action in recent years on the sharing of intimate images, or indeed even the threat of sharing intimate images under Coco's Law. That law is very clear and robust on that and I expect the laws of this land to be applied without fear or favour. Clearly, if there are any breaches, complaints or allegations of a breach of that, An Garda Síochána should investigate it fully.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-30