Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1466.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of times Gardaí were called to the scene of domestic violence in each of the past ten years in each county, in tabular form. [31241/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Combatting all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) remains a priority for this Government, for me as Minister for Justice and for the Garda Commissioner.

'Zero Tolerance,' the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV), sets out an ambitious whole of government five-year programme of reform to achieve a society which does not accept DSGBV or the attitudes which underpin these crimes.

The Strategy, which was co-designed with the sector, also has a significant focus on improving the system for victims of these terrible crimes and on ensuring there is a full range of supports and services available nationwide to support and empower victims and survivors.

A significant objective has been to encourage victims of Domestic violence to come forward and to report the crimes that are being committed against them. This is an important step because historically there has been an under reporting of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. I welcome that more people who have been impacted are coming forward.

Under Budget 2024, in excess of €7.9m in additional funding for combatting DSGBV has been allocated. This represents a significant increase and will support the implementation of the Zero Tolerance plan - including through the establishment of the new dedicated DSGBV agency, Cuan, which has an overall budget of €59m for 2024.

To strengthen our laws in this area and to encourage more victims to come forward, I have introduced legislation which creates new standalone offences of non-fatal strangulation and stalking and I have increased the maximum penalty for assault causing harm, one of the most commonly prosecuted domestic violence related offences, from five to ten years.

Earlier this month, I welcomed the passage through the Oireachtas of The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024, which was signed into law by the President on the 18 July. This wide ranging bill strengthens the law on sexual offences and improves protections for victims of sexual offences.

As the Deputy will be aware, I am also working to create a criminal justice system that better supports vulnerable victims. This is with a view to encouraging more victims to come forward and report what has happened, confident in the knowledge that the system will support and protect them.

As part of that work, there are now divisional protective service units (DPSUs) across the country with specially trained officers who will engage with, and support, vulnerable victims.

In response to the Deputy's query, An Garda Síochána have advised that the data provided in response to Parliamentary Question 465 on the 14 May remains the most up-to-date information. This information is released in quarterly data up to Q1 2024 in line with the latest crime data published by the CSO.

For ease of reference, I have provided that information in the table attached.

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