Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their contributions again. I refer to the recent Women's Aid report and acknowledge that it makes for very distressing reading. The data is very stark. The work being done by Women's Aid in this space helps victims of domestic violence to speak up and ensure they feel supported when they do so. The volume speaks to both the scale and the challenge, but also to a growing willingness to recognise, name and call out abuse and a growing willingness for victims and survivors to come forward and engage, including with our justice system, which is important.

Over the last decade, Ireland has made significant strides in addressing the challenge of domestic violence through legislative reform, national awareness campaigns and the expansion of support services. A more recent focus has included adopting a survivor-centred evidence-based approach, including collaboration between the Government and non-governmental organisations to tackle the root causes, to promote awareness, to provide support to victims and ultimately ensure we hold perpetrators to account. This work is being guided by a comprehensive framework under the third national strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which emphasises prevention, protection, prosecution and policy co-ordination.

In the programme for Government, our Government reaffirms our stated ambition to establish a zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which we recognise as vital for safeguarding individuals and promoting a safer society. This work is identified as continuing to be a major priority for the Government. A range of specific commitments were made to help deliver the ambition, including in respect of fully implementing the third national strategy, developing a new plan for 2026-2030, increasing refuge spaces, updating the school curriculum, rolling out training, making the criminal justice system more victim-centred and reviewing the maximum sentences for relevant offences.

Since his appointment, my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has made it clear that combating and eradicating domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will be one of his core principles in the Department of justice. The two key areas the Minister has progressed since taking office include the drafting of legislation to remove the guardianship rights of a person convicted of killing their intimate partner and working to develop a scheme to ensure any person in an intimate relationship can be informed if their partner has a history of domestic violence.

I also want to respond to the work of our Department and Cuan in providing more refuge spaces. One of the overarching goals of the zero-tolerance strategy to address domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is to ensure that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one. In June 2022, there were 141 refuge units throughout the country. The zero-tolerance strategy includes a commitment to the doubling of this number by the end of 2026. There were 147 refuge units at the end of 2023, with 12 new units delivered in 2024, including the state-of-the-art refuge in Wexford. There are currently 159 units. In this year, another 54 units are set to be under construction or due for refurbishment this year. This will bring the total units, including those under construction, to 213 by the end of this year.

In addition to the development of refuge spaces, Cuan is committed to delivering additional safe homes which provide appropriate accommodation in certain circumstances. In terms of timing, Cuan is currently concluding a review of domestic violence accommodation delivery and development, working closely with our Department and the Department of housing to look at what measures need to be accelerated to meet the target by the end of the strategy. While it is complex business, Cuan is actively seeking ways to streamline processes and speed up delivery of domestic violence accommodation.