Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Since 1996, 244 women have been murdered by men in Ireland. The Minister said Ashling Murphy's fatal assault must be the watershed moment. I know the Government is determined to tackle this issue. The Minister herself said she is taking action for change.

According to Safe Ireland, when Ireland was at the height of its second level 5 lockdown, more than 2,180 women and 600 children received support from a dedicated domestic violence service. This is an increase of 40%. The lack of refuge places and transitional housing for women and children fleeing domestic violence must be urgently addressed. In the 26 counties, nine have no refuge at all and as I said to the Taoiseach today, County Carlow is one of them.

Let me highlight one case as an example of what is happening. Last weekend, a woman and her children came for help. She had to return to a violent situation because there was no emergency accommodation for her in Carlow. She was forced to return to a violent situation. She had no choice.

Last November, I called for the urgent completion of the Tusla review of emergency accommodation nationwide. It is vital now that we have joined up thinking across the different agencies and Departments to tackle the problem. I was delighted to hear today that all parties are coming together to work on this. We also need to look at local authority involvement. There is no national strategy for them to deal with these issues. There is no dedicated line to contact anyone and no support on evenings or weekends. This is a national crisis that must be sorted and acted upon.

I want to compliment Amber Women's Refuge in Kilkenny and Carlow Women's Aid, which although under-resourced provide vital services. This issue needs more support now, however. Your heart would break when a family comes to you and you actually cannot help them because of a lack of resources.

Since last week, there have been conversations about women taking more self-defence classes and carrying pepper spray. I even got one email from a man about guns. The answer is not for women to bear the burden, however. The answer is to make our places safe where they are not safe. We must create them. I join all the women who contacted me this week in calling for change - those who work with victims of violence, those who like myself have daughters and those who are victims. If we are not that woman, we know her and see her. We have to listen to her and save her. Now must be the time. We have had enough. Enough is enough. I thank the Minister.

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