Government claims it is unable to calculate costs of violence against women

A LACK of commitment to gathering information on violence against women appears likely to be the main reason for the Government’s claim that it is unable to calculate the cost of the act.

The Department of Justice told the Irish Examiner that when it attempted to calculate the economic burden of the violent abuse of women, it was too complex an area to put an overall figure on.

However, the experiences of other European countries, which have prepared successful estimates of the cost to their economies, suggests the main reason for this failing does not lie in the complexity of cases but rather the scant details Irish service providers gather.