Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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1619. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the emergency supports currently available for victims of domestic violence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20479/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am deeply committed to a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of domestic violence and ensuring that victims receive the supports that they need is a priority for me as Minister for Justice.

Under Budget 2025, €3,574,000 was allocated to promote and assist the development of support services to victims of crime. This funding enables the provision of services supporting victims at different stages of the criminal justice system. This includes the provision of support, information and advice on the rights of victims; court accompaniment services; specialised counselling services; helplines and accompaniment to Garda interviews for those who have been victimised in this way.

An Garda Síochána attaches the highest priority to combatting all forms of domestic abuse and to helping and protecting victims. Divisional Protective Service Units now operate in every Garda Division in the country. These ensure that when vulnerable victims of crimes such as domestic abuse present to Gardaí, they are met with specialist professional and expert assistance.

Reforming our criminal justice system to make it more victim-centred is a key focus of my Department’s work. Importantly, this includes legislative reform which broadened the scope of how we define domestic violence, to ensure that more forms of abuse are recognised and punishable under the law.

Under the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 the maximum sentence for assault causing harm increased from five to ten years. The Act also introduced new stand-alone offences of stalking and non-fatal strangulation, both offences are common ways in which abusers target victims. The Act widens the existing offence of harassment to include any conduct that seriously interferes with a person’s peace and privacy, or causes significant fear, distress, or harm and it introduces a new system of civil orders designed to prevent stalking and protect victims. This new approach extends protections currently available to certain victims under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 to all victims of stalking behaviour, regardless of their relationship with the perpetrator.

A central element of delivering on the Zero Tolerance goal of the Third National Strategy was the establishment, in January 2024, of Cuan, the statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) agency.

Cuan has a specific mandate to drive the implementation of the strategy across Government, bringing the expertise and focus required to tackle this complex social issue. Under Budget 2025, DSGBV funding was increased to €70 million, with increased funding for Cuan to €67 million.

One of the overarching goals of the strategy is ensuring that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one and includes an ambitious target to double the number of refuge spaces by the end of 2026.

Cuan is working in partnership with the local front-line services providers, local authorities, the Department of Housing and the Housing Agency and has streamlined processes in order to accelerate the delivery of domestic violence refuges.

Cuan also funds 78 organisations across Ireland. This includes national organisations such as Women’s Aid and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, and organisations that provide a range of specialised supports.

As the Deputy’s question relates to work carried out by Cuan, specifically in relation to the provision of services to victims of domestic violence, I have forwarded it to the agency for direct response.