The manager of a domestic violence support service in Leitrim says while reports of major increases in Garda callouts are concerning, there's also a positive side to the story.
Carmel McNamee who works with the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, or DVAS, across Leitrim and Sligo, was commenting on figures released in recent days which show a 64% increase in callouts regarding domestic violence incidence in Sligo/Leitrim during Covid.
The figures also showed a 45% increase in callouts in the Longford/Roscommon Garda Division during the same timeframe.
Speaking on the Let's Talk show today the Leitrim support worker says the increase in cases is obviously very concerning, but it also shows some positive developments regarding the awareness and work of the Gardaí in such cases.
"We're not surprised at all because our local service has also had a significant increase in calls from women seeking support. We're really grateful that the Gardaí respond to calls. In DVAS and in other domestic violence services we're always absolutely delighted to hear that the Gardaí are seeing increases because we understand that divisions around the country are increasing their understanding of domestic violence and seeing it a lot more".
