Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach will have heard of the brutal attack on a young woman in Cork at the weekend. It comes three weeks after the awful murder of Ashling Murphy. There was another attack last week on a woman in Kilkenny. Our thoughts are with these women and their families. Violence against women is an epidemic. We are all agreed that consistent action is needed to eliminate it. The women of Cork and Ireland need to know that they are safe on the streets, in their homes and everywhere.

Two weeks ago, this House passed a Sinn Féin motion which proposed the establishment of a dedicated unit in the Department of An Taoiseach to co-ordinate a gender-based violence strategy and delivery of actions. What is the timeline for the delivery of this unit? It would be a big step forward.

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