Domestic Violence
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-04
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Alison Comyn (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I thank the Minister of State for that response and the continued investment I can see in supports for victims of domestic and gender-based violence. These services are vital and must continue to be properly resourced.
Gender-neutral services are admirable, but there is a service gap in the framework. Cuan is operating a seven-days-a-week helpline, although it is not for 24 hours a day. I seek that funding be made available for that and, in particular, Men's Aid. Quite often, a man will not contact a service that he feels is either gender neutral or specifically for women. Services are weighted heavily towards women. As I said, they are very vital and neutral and we do not want to take any kind of funding away from the women-specific helplines or services, so there is still a need for a specific helpline for men, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I will relay to Men's Aid that if there are funding sources available, it needs to be tapping into every single one.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-04