Minister Jim O’Callaghan welcomes publication of Cuan Annual Report for 2024
- Published on: 21 November 2025
- Last updated on: 21 November 2025
21 November 2025
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, has today welcomed the publication of the 2024 Annual Report of Cuan, the national domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) agency.
The report documents the journey of establishing and building Ireland’s first dedicated statutory agency for combating domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The Report covers the establishment of core operations and delivering impactful initiatives focusing on keeping people safe, helping recovery, supporting access to justice or reducing the risk of sexual or domestic violence.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan said:
“Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is one of the greatest challenges facing our society today. It grossly violates the fundamental rights of victims and survivors and undermines the safety and equality of our communities. I want to thank the management, staff and Board of Cuan for their tireless work and dedication. This 2024 Report highlights the commitment and integrity of Cuan and the many services working with victims and survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence across the country.
“The establishment of Cuan in 2024 marked a crucial milestone in this Government’s commitment to eradicating these abhorrent forms of violence.
“In addition to other initiatives, I am progressing legislative reform as a priority. I recently secured Government approval for the drafting of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence and International Instruments) Bill 2025 which strengthens the law on sexual consent and will bring greater accountability for perpetrators of domestic violence. The legislation will provide for a new publicly accessible Register of Domestic Violence Judgements of those convicted of serious domestic violence against an intimate partner.
“Work on amending the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 is also well advanced. It will allow for the removal of guardianship rights from a person who has been convicted of killing their intimate partner. The primary aim of the proposed legislative changes under the Bill is child protection and welfare. Separately I am progressing amendments to ensure counselling records are only released under exceptional court-determined circumstances where the court decides that they contain material relevant to legal proceedings.
“Under Budget 2026 I secured almost €80 million for Cuan and nationwide organisations and services to continue their impactful work combatting domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, expanding safe accommodation and supporting survivors and victims.”
The CEO of Cuan, Dr Stephanie O’Keeffe, said:
“Our first year has necessarily focused on building strong foundations. We need strong foundations to address the very significant challenges facing us in reducing DSGBV and coordinating and reporting on a whole-of-government strategy. We have grown from an initial team of 14 staff to 28 by year-end, carefully recruiting expertise across key functional areas.”
“We have developed robust governance structures, financial systems and operational frameworks to support our mandate. Most significantly, we have successfully transitioned the oversight and funding of 78 DSGBV service organisations from Tusla and the Department of Justice, ensuring continuity of these essential services while strengthening oversight and introducing new monitoring systems.”
Professor Emerita Caroline Fennell, Chairperson of Cuan Board, said:
“Cuan has begun the important and essential work of co-ordinating Ireland’s response to domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence under the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention: prevention, protection, prosecution, and policy coordination. Together with the Board, I look forward to working closely with the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to deliver on the vision in our Corporate Plan 2025-2027, that of a society free from domestic, sexual and gender‑based violence”
Cuan has made substantial progress in several critical areas, including the successful coordination and publication of the first Mid-Year Progress Report on the implementation of the Zero Tolerance Strategy, and the publication of its Corporate Plan 2025-2027.
Cuan also continued to drive impactful awareness campaigns including “Let’s Have the Consent Conversation,” “Always Here,” and “Serious Consequences,” while developing new ways and methods to ensure that all communities across the island of Ireland were being reached with this important messaging.
ENDS.
Note for Editors
The Cuan Annual Report 2024, and its financial statements (subject to C&AG audit) will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, as required by legislation and published on Cuan’s webpage which can be found here: Cuan Annual Report.
Key milestones from Annual Report 2024
- A key milestone for Cuan in 2024 was the allocation of €52.3 million to fund 78 domestic, sexual and gender-based violence service organisations, including emergency refuges, rape crisis centres, outreach services and specialist support providers.
- With regard to refuge accommodation, eight new family refuge units were delivered in Wexford in September 2024 and four new capacity units were brought on stream in Waterford and three new Safe Homes were established in 2024. These developments have laid a foundation for expanding emergency accommodation and ensuring that victim-survivors have access to safe housing options in the coming years.
- The Cuan Hub marks a significant step in enabling us to gather data across all funded services related to finance, service provision and activity levels. This data will provide critical information on service capacity, activity, outputs and costs, and will help identify gaps and inconsistencies in service provision. These insights will be vital in informing the development of the National Services Development Plan (NSDP).
- For the first time, a national picture is emerging of the services delivered by DSGBV service providers. Initial projections for service activity in 2024 include:
- 1,500 households accommodated in domestic violence accommodation
- 7,000 individuals availing of sexual violence services, of which 21% are adolescents
- 44,000 calls made to national helplines
- 35,000 individuals, including 13% adolescents and children, engaging with domestic violence support services
About Cuan
Cuan was established in 2024 as Ireland’s statutory agency for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Cuan coordinates and drives the implementation of the Zero Tolerance strategy, including through:
- delivering on the number of safe accommodation spaces available, as well as ensuring that helpline and other supports are available to anyone requiring them
- putting in place a robust set of national service standards and governance arrangements to ensure adherence to the appropriate standards for such supports
- leading on consistent and ongoing research to inform DSGBV policy development, working with others such as the CSO who have data projects underway
- leading on awareness-raising campaigns designed to reduce the incidence of DSGBV in Irish society as well as ensuring that all victims know how to access the supports they require
- coordinating all government actions set out in the Third National Strategy and reporting on their delivery to the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. Political oversight of the strategy will be provided by the Cabinet Committee on Social Affairs and Equality
- Coordinating, overseeing and providing advice and support, as appropriate, in relation to the implementation by public service bodies of the strategies and plans in relation to domestic, sexual or gender-based violence
- €67 million has been allocated to Cuan for 2025, this includes an additional €7 million on 2024 funding for refuge provision and research.