Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. While I do not have the exact figures, we know there has been a significant increase in the number of reports of domestic violence and in Garda engagement with victims of domestic violence over the past year. The numbers increased between 2019 and 2020 and have increased even further since the pandemic commenced. I am very conscious of that. The work we are doing to support victims through Covid-19 will continue as long as it is needed. We will ensure lessons that need to be learned from that will be fed into Supporting a Victim's Journey, which is about improving the criminal justice system and encouraging and supporting more people to come forward, and the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. We are doing an audit of the second strategy to ensure we identify what has and has not been implemented and where we need to go next.

The Senator asked about refuges and the audit that is taking place. The audit, which Tusla is due to finalise shortly, will identify exactly where the gaps are in the system and where further support is needed. As the Senator outlined, the Departments of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Health, Education, Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and my Department, as well as many others, have a part to play in this. They are very much engaged and involved.