Helen McEntee calls on public not to comment on Ashling Murphy murder case on social media

Ashling Murphy. Picture: Kerry County Board of Comhaltas.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has called on the public not to comment on social media about the Ashling Murphy murder case.

“We need to be careful what we say. The process has started, it is important to be allowed to take its course”, she said.

Ms McEntee said there needed to be faith in the criminal justice system. 

She said that the public "all have a responsibility here" and that people had to trust the gardaí and the system and not do anything to jeopardise the process.

Ms McEntee defended her department’s role in the provision of domestic violence services and said it would be implanting a national plan including 52 actions.

She said various Government departments involved had listened to the sector about the manner in which services are coordinated. 

To date, they had been “too diffuse” and needed to be better coordinated.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

This would require a ‘whole of Government’ coordinated approach, involving “every single department” playing their part, she told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.

Ms McEntee said she was very clear about what needed to be done. 

All the departments involved would report to a specific sub-committee which would be chaired by the Taoiseach.

Funding would not be an issue, she said, echoing comments by the Taoiseach on Morning Ireland .

“It’s about putting in place a much clearer and quicker process,” she said. 

The Justice Minister said zero tolerance of violence against women was her goal and that she wanted to strengthen the law and make sure that it was enforced. 

It’s about societal change. We all have a part to play. 

The Government had committed to a new national strategy to bring about an improved system that would ensure victims were treated with the dignity they deserved, she said.

While she had not received threatening calls as had some of her female political colleagues had, Ms McEntee said she did receive abuse on social media, which she had ignored. 

But she also said she was now going to take a stand and not ignore it. 

“I will call it out,” she added.

Rape Crisis Network Ireland welcomes new commitments

Clíona Saidléar, executive director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland. File Picture

Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) welcomed Ms McEntee’s announcement of a coordinated approach to policy around domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGB) and the delivery of domestic violence services.

The group said this approach "joins up the dots at an infrastructure level for the first time and gives us the chance of a systemic response to a systemic problem."

"The transformation in the past week is that the issue of men’s violence against women has been articulated, almost unanimously, as part of a system of misogyny," said RCNI Executive Director Clíona Saidléar

"RCNI particularly welcomes that the work, in one Department, under one Ministry, in service provision and prevention on DSGBV, will be accountable to a cabinet committee chaired by An Taoiseach." 

Ms Saidléar said the move would meet "the level of political engagement and accountability" that RCNI has been calling for.

"We look forward to working with the lead DSGBV Minister, political leaders and the department to advance the scale of action and reform needed for the cultural change Micheál Martin has committed Ireland to," she added.