Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. At this time last year, the Ceann Comhairle agreed to the illumination of Leinster House to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. That UN programme, in which Ireland participates, is commendable. There is a significant amount of work to be done. While I fully appreciate the sums the Minister stated have been allocated in various budgets across Departments and agencies, one of the things to come to light in the past 12 months has been the lack of refuge facilities on a county basis. How is that roll-out going across the various Departments? I have a related question on the number of gardaí across the country who are appropriately trained to deal with victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Do we now have a number of gardaí in each Garda division across the State that is appropriate to the level of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence being reported?

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