Time and again we have seen Women's Aid and other organisations criticise the Garda response to domestic violence. Last year, almost half of survivors surveyed described their Garda experience as unhelpful. The issue here is not all gardaí; the issue is some gardaí and an inconsistency in their approach. We need more consistent mandatory and specialised training to properly protect survivors of domestic abuse. The 2024 Garda ombudsman report sets out very clearly what the issues are in relation to training. It is not trauma-informed or responsive. The shift to online training has removed opportunities to enhance learning through discussion and sharing of operational experience, and domestic abuse support services are no longer involved in developing and delivering training. To address these weaknesses, the inspectorate recommends the Garda Síochána develop a domestic abuse-related training plan in partnership with relevant agencies and support services. Recently a constituent of mine, who was a survivor of domestic abuse, told me that when she called An Garda Síochána to the home she shared with her ex-partner more than a year ago, she was told by the garda who attended the scene that they "did not get involved in domestics" and she was effectively ordered to leave the home. When she refused to leave, she was threatened with arrest, so she left the home and her two children with her ex-partner, and this was after he pulled her down the stairs by her hair in the home they shared. The inconsistency in the approach between different members of An Garda Síochána is something that needs to be addressed. I welcome the work that is being done in relation to Cuan but I have had a number of these cases come to me in the past year or so and it is frightening. Regarding what my colleague, Deputy Kelly, said about the suspended gardaí in my own city of Limerick, that was completely unacceptable. How can you have a case where €3.5 million of taxpayers' money is spent on a near decade-long prosecution leaving Garda morale in Limerick on the floor and the officers stripped of their dignity? Even when the Taoiseach himself and the Tánaiste both agree on the need for a review, I note the Government's countermotion has completely ignored this. On high-visibility policing, I welcome the additional Garda high-visibility policing plan in Limerick and the additional probationers but we need a permanent funding solution for live monitoring of the CCTV.

Sentiment score: -0.09