Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Women's Aid reported last month that its helpline had received 898 disclosures of where a man had told a woman he would kill her, the children, a family member or himself. Since the Women's Aid report was published, a sixth woman has died violently in Ireland this year. Jasmine, Elzbieta, Cathy, Skaidrite, Valerie and now Nadine have been killed. They have left 14 children without mothers. Our hearts go out to Nadine's family, particularly her young daughter. A total of 231 women have died violently in Ireland over the past 23 years, yet the State's response has been glacial. While the study commissioned by the Minister for Justice and Equality on familicide and domestic homicide reviews is welcome, it is two decades late. Ireland urgently needs to establish an independent multi-agency system of domestic homicide reviews, underpinned by legislation, similar to the reviews in Britain since 2011. The study team headed by Ms Norah Gibbons is due to complete its work in the middle of next year. I believe there is broad support right across the Dáil, certainly on this side, for the introduction of domestic homicide reviews. Will the Taoiseach commit Fine Gael to the establishment of such reviews on the completion of Ms Gibbons's study?

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