Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Home is supposed to be a safe place of protection and security for people. However, for thousands of men, women and children, their homes, especially during lockdown and restrictions, have been places of daily terror. In recent days, the Department of Justice has furnished Aontú with statistics on domestic violence. There has been a dramatic increase in the level of domestic violence in every county in this State. In my own county of Meath, for example, in 2021, 1,518 reports of domestic violence were made. That is in stark contrast with 2019, which was pre-pandemic, when 1,217 such reports were made. There was a 20% increase in those two years. Each call to a helpline is a crisis in a person's life.

The trend is replicated throughout the country. According to Safe Ireland, there were 57,277 calls to its helplines in 2020. There were 23,785 incidents reported to the Garda, of which 7,600 involved charges. There were 4,000 breaches of protective orders in the same year. Shockingly, 19 new women and three new children contacted the local services every day. Those are incredible figures. For every single woman who contacted the Garda, there were those who felt, for whatever reason, unable to pick up the phone.

Domestic violence is getting worse in this State. The Covid restrictions have played a significant part in that. I have been told that with each new lockdown, there were significant spikes in the number of people who contacted those services. According to the Council of Europe, Ireland has only one third of the refuge support accommodation that is necessary. We currently have 144 such places in this State. We should have 450. There are nine counties in this State with no domestic violence accommodation whatsoever. In counties such as Cavan and Monaghan, it is left to activists such as Councillor Sarah O'Reilly to fight for that accommodation.

Because of the lack of spaces, it is estimated that 1,351 women did not get access to accommodation between March and August 2020. It is a scandal. It is happening at a time when people are rightly shocked at the level of violence there is against women in the State. I have been told we need a €9 million investment right now for increased service provision. We need €112 million right now for increased capital investment to build units where families can take refuge. Will the Taoiseach guarantee that this year this funding will be made available?

See this speech in context