Helen McEntee has described how the “entire country” was grieving over the weekend following the shocking murder of Ashling Murphy last week.
The Minister for Justice also renewed an appeal for anybody that may have information that could catch the killer, no matter how insignificant they may think it is, to come forward to the gardaí.
She said: “What we’ve witnessed over the last few days, and what we’ve witnessed over the weekend is an outpouring of grief, an entire country is grieving.
“But we also stand in solidarity with Ashling Murphy’s family, with the community, we also stand in solidarity with every woman who has been a victim or is a victom of domestic or sexual violence or abuse.
“And if any glimmer of light is to come from these awful, awful events this weekend it is that as a community and a society we all stand together and demand zero tolerance for violence against women.”
Ms McEntee gave an update on the Government’s strategy to tackle the shocking scourge of violence against women in Ireland.
“We will publish the strategy at the beginning of March.
“There is one clear goal of this strategy, zero tolerance for violence against women and what has been set out in this is four key pillars; protection, prevention, prosecution and policy coordination.
“So we need to focus on education at all levels of society, at every age.
“We need to focus on protection, so when victims of violence decide to come forward that they get the supports that they need.
“Prosecution, something I’ve already started on, making sure the criminal justice system works for victims.
“And policy coordination, so making sure that across government, across State agencies, working with the community and voluntary sector, and society, that we have a very clear structure.
“The plan will include actions, it will include timelines, it will include clear targets for us to deliver those changes, but it will also be supported by funding.
“This will be announced and published, all of these details, at the beginning of March.”
Ms McEntee said about the murder investigation: “gardaí are doing their job, they are carrying out an investigation and while it might not seem like it, if anybody has any further information at this stage, no matter how small they might think it is, to please come forward as the investigation is still ongoing.”
