By Sean Murphy
A VITAL women’s support group is going to Leinster House in a bid to secure funding to help victims across Donegal.
Warnings about the scale of domestic violence in the county have been highlighted by the Uplift Project in the Donegal News and TD Charles Ward raised this recently in the Dail.
Now Senator Alison Comyn is to invite the Uplift Project to Dublin to underline the stark reality that the charitable organisation is contacted 20 times a day by vulnerable women.
The Uplift Project’s clinical director Jessica Gallagher told the Donegal News: “Deputy Charles Ward advocated in the Dail for funding for us and specifically spoke about one of our clients, a 60-year-old woman.
“We have since had a great meeting with Senator Comyn. She hopes to bring a special sitting after the recess and will have as many TDs, MEPs, etc for a special funding call.
“I told her how supportive the Donegal News has been and she said she she’s read several articles.
“Senator Comyn could come to Donegal in the following weeks to meet our service users.”
The Dail summer recess – when TDs go on holiday – runs from July 16 until September 16 when the Dail resumes.
Jessica said: “Domestic abuse is evolving. The cases being presented to services like ours today are increasingly complex.
“Many women are experiencing not just the immediate impact of abuse, but the cumulative effects of childhood adversity, intergenerational trauma, poor mental health, addiction, social isolation, poverty, and repeated experiences of coercive control.
“Deputy Ward in the Dáil highlighted the growing complexity of cases and the reality that many families are living with the effects of trauma that span generations.
“His comments reflect what frontline organisations across Ireland have witnessed for years. Domestic abuse cannot be understood as a single event.
“For many, it is one chapter in a much longer story. The need for a different approach has never been clearer.
“In 2025, Women’s Aid received more than 62,000 disclosures of domestic abuse — the highest number ever recorded in Ireland.
“During a six-month period alone, almost 1,900 women and 2,500 children were unable to access refuge or safe accommodation because services were at capacity, while eight women have already lost their lives to violence in Ireland in 2026.
“These figures tell us that demand continues to outpace capacity. Yet they also reveal another challenge.
“The women accessing The Uplift Project reflect this growing complexity. More than 66 per cent have reported living with anxiety.
“Almost 75 per cent have experienced depression, over 60 per cent describe profound loneliness and social isolation, more than 40 per cent have experienced symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress, and over 30 per cent have disclosed suicidal thoughts.”
She added: “If domestic abuse is recognised as a public health issue, then recovery should be recognised as a public responsibility.”
Victims can call their local Garda station to speak in private and can call 999 or 112 in an emergency.
Donegal Uplift Project can be contacted via its theupliftproject.ie website and DDVS can be reached through its donegaldomesticviolenceservices.ie site.
Senator Alison Comyn is highlighting how a Donegal women’s group is contacted 20 times a day.