Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also thank Deputy Coppinger for bringing forward this motion. From 2020 to 2024, 62 women North and South on the island of Ireland were killed by their abusers. As a society and a State, we must do better in terms of tackling gender-based violence. It requires investment in services, including the provision of adequate refuge places in every county. It means ensuring our laws are fit for purpose, including dealing with the new challenges created by social media and technology.

In 2024, the Sonas domestic violence charity in my area, in Dublin 15, helped 631 women and 661 children in the refuge, transitional housing, safe homes and community outreach. However, 368 women were unable to be accommodated by Sonas in 2024. That is a shocking number. It means that people were unable to get the help and support they needed to get out of a domestic violence situation.

The number of calls made in the Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, western division, which covers the Dublin 15 area, increased in 2023 from 5,458 to 6,025. Women's Aid has said that at least one in four women in Ireland is subject to some form of abuse from a current or former partner. Violence against women continues to rise, yet there remains no clear, effective response forthcoming from the Government to address the issues of the shortage of places and supports for women caught up in these circumstances and unable to leave. We deal with these cases daily. People are coming to our constituency offices and, I am sure, the constituency offices of Government Deputies, terrified and afraid for themselves and their children. I urge the Minister of State to recognise that we need to get a grip on this situation. The reality is that women are dying and children are being left in traumatic circumstances. They need help and support now.

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