Irish leader says murder ‘a dark day for Ireland’ as man charged

He described it as a problem that can only be solved by all of society.

The taoiseach was speaking in the Irish Parliament the day after the funeral of Ashling Murphy, a young teacher who was murdered while out running in Co Offaly last week.

Mr Martin, who attended the funeral, said on behalf of his government he wanted to convey profound sympathy and sorrow to her family, partner, colleagues, pupils and the wider community.

He was challenged by Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald to take action now, including establishing a new unit in his department and obtaining better data on gender-based crime.

He described her death as a “dark moment in Ireland’s history”.

“Our primary and necessary response to Ashling’s death is clear - we want and need a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women and this will require all of us - as a society - to commit to lasting change,” he told TDs.

“Deputies will be aware that, led by (Justice) Minister (Helen) McEntee’s department, we have been working on a new whole-of-government strategy to combat domestic, sexual, gender-based violence. Work on this project has been under way for the last 12 months and it is approaching a conclusion.”

The taoiseach described a new strategy in formulation as structured around four pillars - prevention, protection, prosecution and co-ordinated policies.

“The strategy has been developed in partnership with those involved in protecting and supporting women to ensure it is targeted, comprehensive and effective in achieving all of the goals set out,” he said.

“To help ensure its focus is where it really needs to be, in the coming weeks, Minister McEntee will be inviting feedback through a targeted public consultation process on the final draft of the strategy.

“The finalised strategy is expected to be brought to government in early March.”