The Aontú national secretary, Limerick based Sarah Beasley, has called for more supports and funding for services that offer valuable emergency assistance to the victims of domestic violence and their families.

The call comes after statistics released to Aontú show that Gardaí in Clare received some 837 reports of domestic violence in 2021, a dramatic increase in the number of reports made in the year prior to the pandemic – when the figure stood at 665.

The figures show a 26% increase in domestic violence incidents notified to Gardaí in the past two years. During the pandemic it had been frequently reported that organisations helping domestic abuse victims, as well as anecdotal accounts, that support services had seen a large jump in incidents of domestic violence.  It can now be revealed that the number of incidents of domestic abuse incidents in Clare increased by over 500 cases in the past two years. In 2021 Clare had 837 domestic violence incidents logged by the Gardaí. The corresponding number in 2019 was 665 incidents.

Ms Beasley ‘’each one of these incidents is horrible and regretful, imagine how upset and scared a victim feels, unsure if the violence will happen again, this fear has debilitating long-lasting affects. Aontú are asking the government to commit to tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in all its forms, and to supporting victims of these heinous crimes’’.

‘’Aontú are calling for a greater allocation of budget 2022 to be assigned to organisations that help all victims of domestic violence; men, women and children. It is vital that supports go to frontline organisations that are best placed with expertise and knowledge on how to assist, comfort and care for these victims’’ concluded Ms Beasley.