Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Peter Burke (FG), Longford-Westmeath

Absolutely, I concur with the Deputy on the serious nature of femicide and sexual and gender-based violence. That is why the Government does treat this issue with the utmost seriousness. My sympathies go out to any family who have been affected by this. The pain and trauma of victims who have to live with the scars of the actions of others is unimaginable.
First, I will put on the record that there is about €80 million under budget 2026 to support this sector. We have really worked to increase the number of domestic violence units, which is up 30% from 2022, and the number of safe houses, which really needs a huge amount of additional work. I would accept that there are a lot of gaps right across the country that we have to fill. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, took a huge leadership role in this area in the previous Government, which is being carried on by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, in the current Government.
If we look at the actions that have happened, we have our third national zero-tolerance strategy, which now has an implementation group. The implementation group published its report recently. We established Cuan, which is the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency taking leadership and accountability in this area. We have very significant evidence from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, Sexual Violence Survey 2022 and we are planning for a second one next year. We have delivered a huge number of awareness campaigns as well.
More importantly, we might look at the legislative change the Government has embarked upon. We have enacted the Family Courts Bill, establishing a dedicated family court to look at very sensitive items for victims. We have introduced an offence for non-fatal strangulation, reflecting the seriousness of the abuse and the stress and harm it causes. The Guardianship of Infants and Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2026 will allow for the removal of guardianship rights from individuals convicted of killing their intimate partner, ensuring stronger protection for children. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence and International Instruments) Bill 2025 will strengthen the legislation around consent and the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 will restrict the disclosure of counselling records in sexual offence trials and criminalise exploitative practices of sex in lieu of rent. These are key reforms we have embarked upon, as well as the Domestic Violence (Judgments) Register Bill 2026, which will set up a domestic violence register of judgments, ensuring that relevant convictions for serious domestic violence offences are made public as part of the conviction process.
That demonstrates a Government that really treats this issue with the utmost seriousness. More resources need to go into this sector - I absolutely appreciate that - with more support for victims, but the work we are doing demonstrates the Government's commitment to this sector.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09