Tackling domestic abuse and providing supports for victims is a priority for me as Minister and for Government. I am working with my colleagues and with our partners to ensure we have an appropriate collective national response that supports victims and holds perpetrators to account.
I would like to assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána attaches the highest priority to domestic abuse incidents. Operation Faoiseamh - an ongoing initiative - was established to ensure there was proactive and targeted action and supports for those affected during the pandemic.
Gardaí also continue to develop their specialist services in this area and Divisional Protective Services Units have now been rolled out nationwide, meaning that specially trained officers are available who will be responsible for engagement with, and interviewing of, vulnerable victims. This ensures that when vulnerable victims of crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual violence present to Gardaí, they are met with a consistently high standard of specialist, professional and expert assistance.
The following tables, provided to me by An Garda Síochána, outline the specific information sought by the Deputy.
1. The number of domestic abuse incidents by region. The counts in the table below are a combination of the following:
The incident type is one of:
- Breach of Interim Barring Order
- Breach of Protection Order
- Breach of Barring Order
- Breach of Safety Order
- Domestic Dispute - No Offence Disclosed
- Breach of Emergency Barring Order
or is of any incident type, but with a recorded motive of ‘Domestic Abuse’.
The table shows incidents reported in 2021 up to and including the 9th of September.
Region/Division
|
Domestic Abuse Incidents
|
Dublin Region
|
8941
|
D.M.R. Eastern
|
652
|
D.M.R. North Central
|
993
|
D.M.R. Northern
|
2243
|
D.M.R. South Central
|
782
|
D.M.R. Southern
|
1540
|
D.M.R. Western
|
2731
|
Eastern Region
|
5612
|
Kildare Div
|
966
|
Kilkenny/Carlow
|
546
|
Laois/Offaly
|
790
|
Meath Div
|
896
|
Waterford Div
|
653
|
Westmeath Div
|
493
|
Wexford Div
|
770
|
Wicklow Div
|
498
|
North Western Region
|
5103
|
Cavan/Monaghan
|
681
|
Donegal
|
596
|
Galway Div
|
1074
|
Louth Div
|
1152
|
Mayo
|
473
|
Roscommon/Longford Div
|
656
|
Sligo/Leitrim
|
471
|
Southern Region
|
5030
|
Clare
|
519
|
Cork City
|
1040
|
Cork North
|
627
|
Cork West
|
354
|
Kerry
|
639
|
Limerick
|
1202
|
Tipperary
|
649
|
Grand Total
|
24686
|
2. The table below shows the number of the various ‘Breach of Order’ incidents types and also any crime incident with a recorded motive of ‘Domestic Abuse’ reported in 2021 up to and including the 9th of September. The number of those incidents that have an associated charge to date is also shown.
Incident Group
|
Incidents
|
Incidents with Charges
|
Breach of Order Incident
|
3188
|
2657
|
Other Crime Incident
|
5364
|
1362
|
Grand Total
|
8552
|
4019
|
The number of charges will change as investigations are concluded.