Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has been the recipient of many good wishes today and I thank him for his support and that of his Government for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence initiatives over the past two and a half years. Unfortunately, the majority of murders in Ireland still have a domestic violence motivation. A total of 53% of sex crimes have a relationship aspect and most killings and sex crimes happen in a residential setting. Seven hundred and forty-four women were for sale for sex on International Women's Day this year in Ireland. On 19 January, the Taoiseach led tributes to Ashling Murphy following her death, and since then, with the assistance with the Ceann Comhairle, I read into the record of the House the names of the other 243 women who had died in those circumstances since 1997. Will the Taoiseach commit, irrespective of the changes at the weekend, to retaining his support for the work the Government needs to continue to do regarding domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, particularly on the education front and through the introduction of a new relationships and sexuality education programme to lead the broad cultural change we need to give effect to the changes needed in Ireland?

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