Tearmann helped 300 DV victims last year

The Tearmann/Safe Ireland domestic violence service based in Monaghan Town worked with 297 women and three men during 2025, said service lead Siobhán McKenna at last Thursday’s meeting of the County Monaghan Local Community Safety Partnership.

The age of those who availed of Tearmann’s services lin 2025 ranged from 15 to 82 and came from 32 different nationalities. During the 12 month period they also provided around 2,300 interventions.

Referring to Tearmann’s merger with Safe Ireland two years ago, Ms McKenna said the service continues to provide practical and emotional support to women in need. They also have plans to develop their domestic violence supports for young people and children, and to develop court-based assistance scheme. The court system is one of the most difficult for victims to navigate, emotionally in particular, she remarked.

“Women expect their day in court when they will be heard but this often never happens,” she stated.

Ms McKenna said her organisation will also support the development of safe houses across Cavan and Monaghan, three planned in each county, along with work to progress a 12-unit refuge facility in Monaghan Town.

Cllr Niamh McCooey (SF) welcomed the development of safe house and refuge facilities in Monaghan. She asked what work is being done to ensure services are available to people of all nationalities, and what supports are in place for women leaving refuges to ensure they don’t fall back into an abusive situation.

Progress

Ms McKenna confirmed that supports are available to people coming out of refuges.

“The biggest thing is for women to reach our for the support and make the call,” she stated.

Tearmann knows how difficult it is to decide to leave a relationship and this decision takes time. They encourage women to make sure they are financially secure when they make the break.

She added that Tearmann has a budget for interpreter services, which is limited, but if victims are going to court, the court provides an interpreter. LCSP Vice-Chairperson Cllr Sinéad Flynn (SF) praised the “life-saving work” carried out by Ms McKenna and Safe Ireland. She asked the DV expert if she believed there is sufficient engagement with public bodies and schools to raise awareness of domestic violence.

“Is there any progress in ensuring perpetrators rather than victims are removed from the home?” Cllr Flynn also enquired.

“We are working on a healthy relationships programme for schools at present,” Ms McKenna confirmed. She felt, in most cases, the perpetrator is “not in view”, though more work is needed to make said persons visible and accept accountability and responsibility for their actions.

“One in three women will experience domestic or sexual abuse in their lifetime,” she added. “We have to shine a light into the areas where this problem is hidden. This is something we still don’t often talk about. We need to name and shame those who are responsible.”

Cllr Seán Conlon (SF) said young men need to be educated on how they treat and respect women. He believed there is a huge amount of work to be done in this regard.

Ms McKenna said her organisation is starting a collaboration with MOVE (Men Overcoming Violent Emotions), the Men’s Development Network, Cavan and Monaghan ETBB and other agencies to address this. A workshop is planned for the Garage Theatre in Monaghan on May 13. She also told the meeting that young men who have lived in a domestic violence situation have so much to give back to society, and they need to be supported by agencies to do this.

LCSP Chairperson Cllr Alan Johnston (FG) said the subject of Ms. McKenna’s presentation was very much about community safety. The fact that one in three women experienced abuse is probably the biggest crime statistic they will hear at their meeting, he added.

Conversation

Ursula McKenna, Co-ordinator of the Women’s Collective Ireland Monaghan project, said the problem has to be addressed from an equality perspective, and men also have to be involved in the conversation too.

“We are still a male-dominated society in Ireland,” she said. “Men need to be saying, ‘No – this behaviour is not acceptable and this issue is about equality and respect’. Every man needs to get behind this – it is not just a woman’s problem.”

Responding to Francis McCarron of Monaghan Integrated Development, Ms McKenna said the key message she wanted to see emanate from the meeting was that an inter-agency and collective response to addressing DV is the way forward.

This message was endorsed by Garda Superintendent Pat O’Connell, who told the meeting that gardaí had a pro-arrest domestic violence policy. When they attend at a reported incident, he explained that gardaí carry out an assessment and risk evaluation and, where perpetrators are identified, a mandatory arrest policy exists to remove them from the home. The Gardaí then work to ensure the necessary supports are in place for the victim.