Minister O'Callaghan publishes Garda Síochána Inspectorate Report on Response to Domestic Abuse
- Foilsithe: 20 Márta 2025
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 21 Márta 2025
The Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has today (Thursday) published the Garda Síochána Inspectorate’s report – ‘Domestic Abuse - An inspection of the Garda Síochána's approach to prevention, protection, prosecution and victim support.’
The oversight body’s report acknowledges the significant steps being taken by Government to raise awareness of and mitigate domestic abuse and recognises the key role An Garda Síochána plays in implementing government policy in this area.
While acknowledging much of the positive work of An Garda Síochána in this area, the Inspectorate makes a number of recommendations in relation to improvements that could be made to An Garda Síochána's approaches to tackling domestic abuse.
Minster O’Callaghan acknowledged the ongoing efforts of An Garda Síochána to strengthen its response to domestic abuse.
Speaking today the Minister said:
“I would like to thank the Garda Síochána Inspectorate for their work in producing this report on domestic abuse.
“Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that requires a strong and coordinated response, as is reflected in Zero Tolerance: the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
“Combatting domestic abuse and ensuring that there is a consistent service available to all victims and survivors is a major priority for me as Minister for Justice.”
A victim survey conducted in 2023 played a key role in shaping the report’s findings, providing insights from survivors on Garda responses, the effectiveness of interventions and barriers to reporting abuse.
A key indicator of trust and confidence in An Garda Síochána was the likelihood that someone who has reported domestic abuse to the organisation would do so again. While this indicates growing confidence in the system, the survey highlighted areas for improvement including response consistency.
Recognising these findings, Minister O’Callaghan reaffirmed his and the government’s commitment to establishing a zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence (DSGBV), safeguarding individuals and promoting a safer society.
In 2022, the five-year Zero Tolerance DSGBV Strategy was published and in January 2024, Cuan, the DSGBV Agency, was established to drive the Strategy forward.
One of the key objectives in the Zero Tolerance Strategy is to encourage victims of domestic violence to come forward and to report the crimes that are being committed against them. A significant amount of work has already been undertaken in this area, including through the implementation of ‘Supporting a Victims Journey’.
Minister O’Callaghan stated:
“I urge anyone who is in fear or danger due to domestic abuse or any other crime, to please contact the Gardaí as soon as you can do so safely. We must ensure that every victim who comes forward is met with a response that is compassionate, effective and consistent.
“Strengthening trust and confidence in our justice system is essential in encouraging victims to seek help and holding perpetrators to account.
“The findings of the report will guide further improvements, and my department and I will continue to work closely with An Garda Síochána and Cuan in this regard.”
The report is available at: www.gsinsp.ie/domestic-abuse.
Notes
This is the final inspection report being published by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate.
Upon the commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 the inspection functions of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate will be incorporated within the newly established Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA).
Coming forward to report a crime can be a traumatic experience for victims and the Minister for Justice is determined to do everything in his power to ensure that the criminal justice system empowers victims to have the confidence to report an offence, knowing they will be supported, informed, and treated respectfully for the entirety of the difficult journey they face.
An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice are continuing to work to strengthen trust and confidence in the system, so that victims will feel confident in coming forward to report what has happened to them and get justice.
Under Budget 2025, DSGBV funding was increased to €70 million. This is more than treble the funding for DSGBV services than at the start of the last government’s term and is a further significant increase for 2025.
Increased funding for Cuan to almost €67 million includes additional resources to support the implementation of the Zero Tolerance strategy with funding to support the development of 80 additional refuge spaces.
‘Supporting a Victim’s Journey’ is a plan to help victims and vulnerable witnesses in sexual violence cases which was developed on foot of the O’Malley Review of Protections for Vulnerable Witnesses in the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Offences.