Number of women violently killed ‘not going in the right direction’ – Taoiseach

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

The number of women murdered and killed in Ireland is “not going in the right direction”, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheál Martin was responding during Leaders’ Questions after Ivana Bacik said the number of women violently killed so far in 2026 has overtaken the figure for the whole of last year.

The Labour leader raised the deaths of two women, Jamey Carney and Adina Raluca Constantin, in the last week in the Dáil.

“It’s become a cliché to describe violence against women as an epidemic and fatal violence against women as femicide, but that’s the reality,” she said.

Responding, Mr Martin said: “The numbers are not going in the right direction in terms of the continued violence and extreme violence that’s occurring, so there’s a societal response required.”

Bacik quoted a figure showing almost 90% of women murdered in Ireland were killed by a man who was known to them, adding “domestic violence kills”.

She said the charity Women’s Aid says the housing crisis is “trapping women and children in violent homes”.

“They simply cannot afford to leave, and they have nowhere to go. Their abusers know this,” she said.

She said a three million euro safe fund, administered by the charity, is needed “to provide fast financial support for those who need an escape route”.

Martin said “broadly speaking” the government is “supportive of any measure that will help women who are victims of continuing domestic violence”.

He said he would talk to ministers about the proposal.

He added, in his view, every local authority housing allocation there should be, “a reserve held to facilitate women fleeing domestic violence”.

He said he favoured “as broad a degree of flexibility as possible to facilitate women who are under the constant threat of either quest of control or violence in any shape or form that might take”.