We support the motion. Gender-based and domestic violence is a problem across Europe and it is welcome that the EU is taking seriously its role in tackling the issue by signing the Istanbul Convention. Ireland is already a state party to the convention but opting in in full to the EU's ratification process will mean we can play a full part in the Europe-wide fight against gender-based violence. That will be particularly important in light of the EU Presidency. It is welcome the Government is taking this step. It is important but we need far greater action from Government on tackling violence against women and girls and domestic violence. When it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, the scale of the challenge we face is clear. The figures are stark. There were 22,700 contacts to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre's national helpline in 2024, there were 32,144 contacts to Women's Aid in the same year and gardaí responded to an average of 1,250 incidents per week. While the zero-tolerance strategy commits to doubling the number of refuge spaces in the country by the end of 2026 - and that was a welcome step - the ambition falls far short of what is needed. The Government strategy to double provision to 282 places is based on one unit per 10,000 women, rather than one place per 10,000 population. Article 23 of the Istanbul Convention sets out a clear requirement to provide an adequate ratio of shelter places to the total population. That means Ireland would still need another 250 places to be compliant. All the while, our population continues to grow. What terrifies me is that the number of women killed violently so far this year matches the total figure for 2025. We still have nine counties with no refuge. We know the Government is unlikely to meet the target of doubling refuge spaces by the end of 2026. We had 141 at the start; we are now in June and have 193. We have had 285 women die violently in this country since 1996. So far this year, a number of women have died violently. Adina Constantin, Yveta Donovalova, Kelly Marie Lynch, Amy Doherty and Ellie Flanagan have all died violently in this country. Some 50% of all victims are under the age of 35, while 63% were killed at home, 87% by a man who was known to them. When I talk about domestic and gender-based violence, I always think of the former State pathologist, Dr. Marie Cassidy. She said very pertinently that it is not the man under the bed you need to worry about, but the man sleeping beside you in the bed, whether it be your husband or partner. Last week, shockingly, 1,900 women were turned away from refuge places. That is why I called for the Minister for justice to come into the Chamber last week and take questions on this. In many counties we are failing women. In my own County Limerick, we do not have a sexual assault treatment unit. If a woman is raped in Limerick or the mid-west, including Clare, Tipperary and down as far as west Clare, unless the woman is willing to report the incident to the Garda, which can be more traumatising for that individual, she has to travel, often on public transport, in the clothes she was wearing and with the DNA and the semen of her attacker, to Galway in order to get a fulsome examination and an STI check. While it is welcome that we are debating this motion tonight, we need to go much further. We need 500 refuge spaces and we need to make sure the Government meets the target by the end of 2026, as was set out by Cuan. I am also concerned that for victims and survivors of domestic violence who are leaving their home or moving county, the protocols brought forward by the Minister for housing last week do not currently cover those who are in receipt of HAP and RAS. That is something the Government needs to look at and rectify. On many metrics, things are getting worse. We have an epidemic of male violence against women in this country. We have an epidemic of misogyny. Victims need to feel they have the confidence in the system to come forward such that they know their case will be prosecuted and investigated properly and they will get the justice they deserve. The number of failed prosecutions for rape in this country leaves an awful lot to be desired. I want to see a step change and a culture shift whereby we create a system in which women have confidence that they will be listened to and believed and that their perpetrator will be brought to justice.

Sentiment score: -0.20