I wish to address a heartbreaking case that concerns the death of a 15-year-old, Molly Dempsey. Molly was from Baltinglass and her young life was cut short in a fatal collision in Baltinglass in May 2024. She was a daughter, a sister and a niece. She was loved and part of a family who are now waking up every day with a silence that should never have been.

I extend a warm welcome to her mother, Mary Dempsey, who is here with her two aunties, Yvonne and Theresa, and acknowledge their courage in being here to support the differences that we can try and make. I have a photo in my hand of Molly in December 2023, just a couple of months before she died in May 2024.

For those of you who do not know the case, Molly was a passenger in a car driven by someone who had no licence or insurance, and was driving dangerously. Last month, a suspended two-year sentence and a ten-year driving ban were handed down to the driver. While the court was constrained by the fact that he was a minor at the time of the offence, the outcome has left Molly's family – the Dempsey family from Baltinglass – absolutely devastated. Their grief was evident as they left the court holding a teddy bear that played the voice of Molly.

I am not criticising any judge or undermining the courts. We have to respect the rule of law but we have a responsibility in this House to ask questions when something does not sit right with the public and when families feel that justice has not been served. This tragedy raises huge questions about how the justice system responds to dangerous driving by minors, and the sentencing frameworks, as well as the supports available to the likes of the Dempsey family. It also highlights the need for stronger preventative measures such as early intervention and community supports that might stop a young person from ever taking a car without a licence.

I realise we cannot undo what has happened. We cannot bring Molly back for the family who are seated in the Gallery. Nothing that we in this House can say or do can fill that space. However, I ask that the Minister for justice come before this House to outline whether current legislation is sufficient and what reforms may be necessary to ensure that no family endures what the Dempsey family have endured. To her family, I say that Molly and her life certainly did matter. We owe it to her and to everybody who has gone through something like this to make sure that it is reflected not just in words, but in the law of the land.