63. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the data his Department collects on the outcomes of women who engage with domestic violence services, including refuge access, repeat victimisation, protection orders and criminal justice outcomes; and whether he is satisfied that the State currently has sufficient data to assess whether victims are becoming safer after seeking help. [49880/26]

The Deputy will appreciate that data on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is collected across a range of agencies, including An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, and service providers funded by the State. However, the data is not currently integrated in a way that allows for the tracking of individual outcomes over time, including refuge access, repeat victimisation, and longer-term safety outcomes following engagement with services.

The Government’s Zero Tolerance strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV), recognises the importance of improved data collection and analysis to support evidence-based policy development. In that context, Cuan, our statutory DSGBV agency is leading efforts to strengthen coordination and develop a more consistent evidence base in this area.

Additional funding was made available to Cuan to expand the development of the national domestic violence helplines which also enables increased data collection. Government Departments, agencies and service providers gather and report data relevant to the implementation of the strategy to Cuan on key performance indicators to track and measure progress.

For incidents of gender-based violence, An Garda Síochána have the lead role in recording details of such incidents in the PULSE system. I am advised that in July 2021, AGS introduced a mechanism to record the relationship between the victim and the offender. Since then, the Garda Information Service Centre (GISC) has implemented a data quality coherency check on the recording of the relationship, to improve the recording of the domestic abuse motive attached to PULSE incidents.

The CSO conducted a Sexual Violence Survey which was published in 2023. The data gathered from that survey is used to inform policy and service provision. A further national survey is planned to take place in 2027. Cuan is represented on my Department's Analytics Steering Group and is engaging with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) on progressing aligned country data across EU member states. Early progress has been made on a Cuan/ESRI Joint Research Programme on Adult Sexual Violence in Ireland. This will include analysis of the 2023 CSO Sexual Violence Survey data, to examine patterns of victimisation among those that have experienced adult sexual violence and the profile of those that disclose experiencing adult sexual violence and use services.

Alongside this, my Department is progressing work to develop a single unique identifier and standardising data categorisation across the Justice Sector which will facilitate better collation and sharing of data to support policy research and inform DSGBV service development.

Through development of the National Service Development Plan (NSDP), Cuan is collaborating with services and stakeholders to strengthen data collection processes. An essential element to the NSDP is the establishment of robust monitoring structures for service delivery and outcomes. This monitoring process will identify critical areas for service and sector development.

Monitoring on DSGBV service activity and outcome for 2024 and 2025 provides, for the first time, a national picture of service activity and impact across all DSGBV funded services. In 2025, 23,239 individuals were supported across Cuan funded Domestic Violence services. This along with the ongoing engagement with DSGBV funded services as part of annual funding process provides an evidence base on service delivery, outcomes and need.

The range of data available, together with the enhanced monitoring being undertaken by Cuan, is significantly strengthening the State’s understanding of service delivery and outcomes and will continue to improve the evidence base over time.