The head of An Garda Síochána has admitted there are ongoing shortcomings in how domestic violence cases are handled, warning that “weakness” and inconsistency remain across the force.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris made the remarks at the first public meeting in Cork of the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA), where concerns were raised about how domestic abuse is reported and dealt with, particularly in Co Cork.
The meeting heard that, despite the prevalence of domestic abuse, there are relatively low per-capita reporting rates for sexual crime in the county. Concerns were also raised about how breaches of court orders — including protection and barring orders — are enforced.
Emma Reidy, a PCSA member and CEO of Aoibhneas Domestic Abuse Support for Women and Children, said there is a perception among some people that gardaí can be “soft” when it comes to enforcing such orders, with arrests not always taking place.
She also pointed to findings from a Garda Inspectorate report which highlighted low rates of domestic abuse protection in the region.
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Responding to the concerns, Commissioner Harris acknowledged the issues and said the organisation needs to be more proactive in identifying problems. “If we have outliers, we should have red flags around what’s going on,” he said.
He admitted plainly that “weakness” remains in the force’s response to domestic violence and pointed to a lack of consistency in how cases are handled across different areas. While noting that significant improvements have been made — including the rollout of protective services units in every Garda division — he said a “lack of uniformity” continues to be a concern.
The importance of first contact between victims and gardaí was also highlighted during the meeting. Ms Reidy said that while specialist units often receive positive feedback, initial interactions at Garda stations can fall short. She noted that survivors’ experiences of first reporting abuse — often described as “going to the hatch” — are not always supportive.
Commissioner Harris agreed that this first point of contact is critical and said poor experiences are unacceptable. “It is very disappointing” to hear of negative responses, he said, stressing that victims often endure repeated abuse before coming forward.
“Each person who comes to gardaí to report domestic abuse has already suffered some 30 ‘horrendous’ instances of abuse before they ever report it.”
He added that the scale of domestic abuse incidents presents a significant operational challenge, with gardaí responding to approximately 64,000 calls a year related to domestic violence. Ensuring a consistent response across all those cases remains difficult, he said.
Under-reporting of domestic abuse was also identified as a major issue, particularly in rural communities. Ms Reidy noted that abuse — including intergenerational and financial abuse — can remain hidden due to low reporting rates.
Commissioner Harris said this gap between reported and actual incidents is well recognised. “Rates of reporting definitely do not reflect the reality of offending,” he said. He added that location can play a role in whether victims feel able to come forward. “Particularly in rural Ireland, there are challenges,” he said. “If you are living in a city, you can be somewhat anonymous. If you’re living in smaller, close-knit rural communities, there can, with some people unfortunately, be a cultural thing about not coming forward.”
The meeting also heard that a Garda risk assessment tool — designed to evaluate the cumulative and escalating danger in domestic abuse cases — is now mandatory in Co Cork. However, Ms Reidy said completion rates for the tool have been low in some areas, raising further concerns about consistency.
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Efforts are ongoing to improve training and awareness within the force. Trainee gardaí at the Templemore training college now receive more than 34 hours of instruction on responding to domestic violence, one of the highest levels of training in Europe. Around 190 new recruits are due to graduate, with senior officers expressing hope that this will help shift culture and improve understanding of domestic abuse across the organisation.
Commissioner Harris said additional steps are also being taken internally, including awareness campaigns and improvements in follow-up contact with victims. However, he acknowledged that more needs to be done to ensure victims receive a consistent and supportive response, regardless of where they report abuse.
