Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I wish to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to raise a matter of national importance, namely, the need for the Government to allocate time on the Dáil schedule during the International 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women to debate and address the grave funding shortfalls resulting from a Government-imposed funding cap since 2002 which meant that 10,000 calls to the Women's Aid helpline went unanswered last year and many more women in grave need were denied essential services; the urgent need to prescribe and resource a new role for the probation and welfare service in barring orders, the need to ensure that the review of funding to the National Domestic Violence Intervention Agency results in an increase, the failure of the Garda to keep comprehensive records of domestic violence incidents and to collect statistics, and the need for ongoing risk assessments to be conducted on the safety of women following their engagement with those services.

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