Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, acknowledge the work that has been done on this Private Members' motion by the Social Democrats. I thank them for the research. I acknowledge the people in their offices put a great deal of effort into this. Sometimes these are the people who do not get thanked for their work.

The soft approach to criminal justice in Ireland has been a growing concern, with the Government's response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence cases often being seen as lenient. The Government's proclaimed zero-tolerance approach seems to be nothing more than empty rhetoric. In 2023, Women's Aid reported more than 40,000 disclosures of abuse against women and children, the highest number in its 50-year history. The Government's action, however, does not reflect the severity of this epidemic.

Moreover, the Government has failed to update the Dentists Act 1985, leaving the Dental Council unable to sanction unregistered dentists operating in Ireland despite their having convictions, including, very worryingly, for sexual assault. The Minister for Justice has a crucial role to play in addressing these issues but there has been a lack of decisive action on her part. This includes updating the Dáil on when sentencing guidelines from the Judicial Council will finally be published, clarifying when the report of Peter Ward SC into the administration of cases involving Defence Forces personnel charged or convicted of criminal offences will be completed and published, and advising when Defence Forces personnel who have been convicted of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will be dealt with properly.

The Government's soft approach to crime and the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee's, inaction are undermining the Irish judicial system. It is time for the Government to live up to its promise to adopt a truly zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Anything less is a betrayal of the victims of these horrible crimes and a failure of the Government's duty to protect its citizens, who, in many cases, are vulnerable citizens. The Government needs to take decisive action to address these issues and to ensure proper justice for all. In recent years, Ireland has seen a concerning trend seeping into its justice system, that is, a soft approach to criminal justice. This leniency is most evident in the handling of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence cases. The Government's claim of zero tolerance seems to be nothing more than promises, promises, promises.

The buck stops with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who for too long has ignored the bread and butter issues and the aspects of her brief that are so important. The Minister needs to take decisive action to address these issues. This includes updating the Dáil on when sentencing guidelines from the Judicial Council will finally be published and clarifying when the report of Mr. Ward SC will be dealt with. As I already pointed out, that report is important because an eminent senior counsel has made recommendations and completed a report and it has not been dealt with.

One thing that is very worrying to me, and which is outlined in the briefing for this debate, is that counselling and psychotherapy services in Ireland are completely unregulated. The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, advised the Dáil in May 2024 that it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy when counsellor and psychotherapist professions will be fully regulated. Surely, that would set every type of alarm bell going off in any right person's mind. Surely be to God the vulnerable person who puts out his or her hand and knocks on a door or contacts a counsellor or psychotherapist in need of the benefit of these services should be safe in the knowledge that the counsellor or psychotherapist is fully regulated and registered. They should be safe in the knowledge that, for example, the person is Garda vetted and a sound person to go to. If this is not the case then, surely be to God, that is extremely worrying. There could be a vulnerable person, a man, a woman - anybody - who is in an upset state of mind as it is with a lot going on in his or her life, reaching out and asking for help and maybe the individual to whom the vulnerable person is asking for help is not a nice person. That is the polite way I will put it. That individual could have ulterior motives and would not have gone through the proper scrutiny or checks and balances that should be in place. For example, if I was going to work tomorrow as a janitor in a school, whose responsibility it was to ensure the hallways and toilets are kept tidy, before I would be entrusted with that position, I would be checked and Garda vetted to make sure I am sound and normal for the job. To think we do not have those checks and balances in place for people just because they have a letter beside their name does not make sense to me. It is totally abhorrent to me. One would imagine that people to whom vulnerable people are going to for assistance have been put through the proper checks and measures.

This is why the Social Democrats are rightly bringing this issue to the floor of the Dáil and why they are so correct in doing so. I thank the Social Democrats for the benefit of having the time to make my little impassioned plea to the Minister of State. Every right-thinking person in this House supports them very much in what they are doing here today. At the end of the day, we want to ensure that people, whether a lady or any person, are safe and protected. We want to ensure that the full rigors of the law will be imposed if some awful person interferes with them or does something bad.

We heard yesterday from the family of Shane O'Farrell how the law can not serve people properly. His mother and relations were in the Public Gallery because they felt justice was denied to them. It is a place where they should not have to be. Justice was denied to them. We are speaking up today for another cohort of people who need our assistance and need the Government to put the measures in place in order for Ireland to be a clean and safe place for people to live. We must ensure that if people put out their hand to seek assistance, they are going to have a sound person catching a hold of their hand who genuinely will want to help them.

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