Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Our talking about the crisis that is domestic violence may give hope to those suffering in horrific circumstances and encourage them to reach out and seek help to end their nightmare.

It saddens me to say the problem of domestic violence is getting worse. We all have to work together to address it. Covid-19 without doubt made a very horrible and dangerous situation for vulnerable people even worse. We must be conscious there will be long-term fallout for victims. We must resource and support them.

I welcome the additional protections that were put in place in the Covid-19 emergency legislation. These specifically recognised the horror that is domestic violence. This welcome awareness must continue into the future.

The shocking recent revelation that 3,100 calls from victims of abuse to An Garda Síochána between October 2019 and last year went unanswered was scandalous. That the Garda Commissioner had to issue a public apology for this entirely unacceptable failure shows the seriousness of the situation. A further investigation should take place to ensure this never happens again, and additional measures to those already introduced should be put in place to prevent it. That very vulnerable victims of domestic abuse, after having taken the courage to seek help, were silenced by the very authorities that were meant to protect them and keep them safe is scandalous. We all must do better by victims.

There have been very welcome moves in recent years to address this scourge but we have much more progress to make. A stigma still exists for men and women suffering domestic abuse and we as a society need to smash it. A safe haven and safe space must be available for victims of domestic abuse. Anything else is a failure.

Before finishing, I applaud and thank the efforts of all groups offering services and supports, and I appeal to victims to please reach out if they are suffering abuse. They do not need to suffer alone.

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