THERE HAS BEEN a 69% increase in the number of people jailed for breaching domestic abuse orders.

The figures released by the Irish Prison Service show a steep rise between 2020 and 2024.

A total of 699 people breached orders, which include barring and protection orders, within the four year period. 

In 2020, the figure was 99. This rose to 167 in 2024.

A breakdown of the types of orders breached Cynthia Ní Mhurchú Cynthia Ní Mhurchú

Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, who requested the figures under the Freedom of Information Act, described domestic violence as an epidemic.

She said it’s “going on behind closed doors, in kitchens and bedrooms, in front of children, across homes in Ireland”.

The revelation follows last week’s publication of a report by the United Nations, which shows that an average of 137 women and girls are killed every day by someone in their own family.

Ní Mhurchú said: “Something in our society is fueling an unprecedented surge in violence against women — an epidemic unlike anything we’ve seen before.”

In Ireland, gender-based violence has been described as a “pervasive issue” – over one third of women are subjected to domestic abuse and 90% of women who have died violently have been killed by a man known to them, according to Women’s Aid.

The national organisation, which works to prevent and address domestic violence, is today launching a “potentially lifesaving” free programme for family and friends of victims of domestic abuse and coercive control.