'Societal response' required to fight epidemic of violence against women, says Taoiseach

Jamey Carney's body was found by a relative in a bedroom of her home on the Muckross Rd in Killarney, Co Kerry, at lunchtime on Tuesday.
Picture: Facebook

A societal response is required to fight the epidemic of violence against women, the Taoiseach has said, as more women have died violently so far in 2026 than in all of last year.

The murder of US-born mother-of-one Jamey Carney in Killarney this week brings the number of women who died violently in 2026 to eight.

Seven women were killed in 2025.

Micheál Martin accepted that the number of women being killed in Ireland is “not going in the right direction”.

The Taoiseach was responding in the Dáil after Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that two women, Jamey Carney and Adina Raluca Constantin, were killed over the last week.

“It’s become a cliché to describe violence against women as an epidemic and fatal violence against women as femicide, but that’s the reality,” Ms Bacik said.

Mr Martin replied: “The numbers are not going in the right direction in terms of the continued violence and extreme violence that’s occurring, so there’s a societal response required.” 

Ms Bacik said that almost 90% of women murdered in Ireland were killed by a man who was known to them.

The housing crisis is trapping women and children in violent homes, the charity Women's Aid has warned.

Ireland’s ports and airports have been put on high alert for a man known to Jamey Carney, whom gardaí are looking to question in relation to her murder. 

There are concerns that he may try to leave the country.

Ms Carney's body was found by a relative in a bedroom of her home on the Muckross Rd in Killarney, Co Kerry, at lunchtime on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old mother suffered a violent death there early on Tuesday morning.

Ms Carney was born in New York and had Irish ancestry. She moved to Ireland with her daughter, now aged 13, in 2021 after visiting on holiday.

She was described as a devoted mother and a caring and hard-working person who campaigned for Palestinian rights and was involved in sports locally.

Sarah Benson, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said that violence, abuse, and murder are still a reality for many women living in Ireland. 

"After the devastating murder of Ashling Murphy in 2022, Ireland said never again,” Ms Benson said.

But since then, 40 women have died violently in Ireland.

Social Democrats’ senator Patricia Stephenson said that these are not just numbers or statistics — these are real women whose lives were abruptly cut short in the most horrendous circumstances.

“It’s clear from how often we hear of the killing of women in Ireland that we are going backwards with regards to femicide,” Ms Stephenson said.

“This is an all-island epidemic —Northern Ireland is one of the most dangerous places in Europe to be a woman. This is a crisis which demands urgent attention."

The Oireachtas justice committee will this morning launch a wide-ranging report on tackling gender-based violence, with 26 recommendations.

These include a call for additional refuge spaces for both men and women who are experiencing gender-based violence.

Other recommendations include:

• Strengthening bail laws and enhanced consideration of coercive control and breach history in bail decisions;
• A full review of the in-camera rule in family law cases to assess its impact on transparency, accountability, and victims’ access to justice;
• A statewide study to quantify the prevalence and nature of domestic and gender-based violence involving garda members;
• The suspension of gardaí while they are under investigation for domestic or sexual violence;
• Amending the 2018 Domestic Violence Act to provide that a breach of a protective order is a hybrid offence that may be prosecuted as a summary offence or an indictment.