Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 May 2023
118. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice the number of breaches of orders made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 which were reported to An Garda Síochána in each of the years 2016 to 2022, and to date in 2023, inclusive, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26627/23]
View answerTackling domestic violence and supporting vulnerable victims are priorities for Government, for the Department of Justice, and for the Garda Commissioner.
It is recognised that, historically, people may not have felt able to come forward to report domestic violence, for fear of retribution or indeed because they did not have confidence that the system would support and protect them.
An Garda Síochána and my Department are working hard to strengthen trust and confidence in the criminal justice system so that victims feel empowered to come forward.
My Department has also worked with criminal justice agencies and civil society frontline partners on national awareness-raising campaigns and to co-design our most ambitious domestic, sexual and gender based violence strategy.
I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána prioritise and proactively respond to incidents of domestic abuse. Gardaí now have Divisional Protective Services Units in each division, so specialised teams nationwide follow up with vulnerable victims in these most difficult cases.
They have also introduced new mandatory domestic violence training, as well as training for using the ‘Risk Evaluation Tool’ to ensure all vulnerable victims receive the service and supports they need.
As part of delivering on the commitments under the Third National Strategy, I am strengthening the law in this area, including by increasing the penalties for assault causing harm, introducing standalone offences of non-fatal strangulation and stalking, and by progressing a new Sexual Offences Bill which will, among other things, improve supports for victims.
Work also continues to implement Supporting a Victim’s Journey, to reform the criminal justice system at every point a victim comes into contact with it.
In relation to the specific information sought by the Deputy, a search of the PULSE database was conducted on the 29th May 2023 for incidents of the following types reported during the period 01/01/2016 – 28/05/2023:
• Breach of Barring Order
• Breach of Emergency Barring Order
• Breach of Interim Barring Order
• Breach of Protection Order
• Breach of Safety Order
The number of incidents by type and by year in the period 2016 to the 28th of May 2023 is shown in the table below.
|
Incident Type |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
20231 |
Grand Total |
|
Breach of Barring Order |
432 |
514 |
552 |
698 |
786 |
742 |
695 |
270 |
4689 |
|
Breach of Emergency Barring Order |
- |
- |
- |
- |
* |
- |
* |
- |
* |
|
Breach of Interim Barring Order |
69 |
62 |
82 |
143 |
137 |
144 |
138 |
54 |
829 |
|
Breach of Protection Order |
907 |
902 |
1139 |
1364 |
1975 |
2095 |
2306 |
941 |
11629 |
|
Breach of Safety Order |
826 |
1066 |
1262 |
1527 |
1452 |
1694 |
1601 |
763 |
10191 |
1 - Up to 28/05/2023
* - Less than 10
Additional Information
Incident data is based upon operational data from the PULSE system as was available at 01:00 on 29/05/2023 and is liable to change.
