We should be screaming from the rooftops about violence against women

McEntee says a plan is in place | But she admits more needs done

- LOUISE BURNE

JUSTICE Minister Helen McEntee has said people should be "screaming from the rooftops" about the number of women being killed in Ireland.

The Fine Gael minister was speaking exclusively to the Irish Mirror as part of our Stop the Violence campaign.

Ms McEntee spoke about the legislative and cultural changes that are required to tackle what Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described this week as an "epidemic" of violence against women.

As reported by the Irish Mirror on Monday, the number of women who were the victim of homicides in 2022 was 13 almost double the 2021 figure.

Asked about how she felt about seeing these figures as a woman, Ms McEntee admitted that they were frightening.

She added: "It hits you every single time. I certainly felt last year and even this year it was happening too often.

"I think particularly for women when you read that, you're just thinking why or how.

"We're talking about domestic violence more. We're doing more, we're committed to doing more, particularly after Covid.

"The fact that there were more women killed last year, it just really doesn't sit well.

"You think it should be turning. People should be thinking twice about it, we should be seeing figures going in the opposite direction.

"It makes me more determined to 16 actually turn those figures around and have less women in that situation.

"It's upsetting. It's upsetting for every woman to see that.

"The Garda figures last year showed that more women were killed in domestic incidents than there were more general homicides.

"We should be screaming from the rooftops when that happens.