Paid leave should be introduced for victims of domestic violence, Sinn Féin Dublin MEP Lynn Boylan has told the party's ardfheis.

She cited an Ictu report which referred to research showing 20 per cent of victims of domestic abuse had to take a month or more off work within one year due to such abuse.

Ms Boylan also said 4,831 requests for refuge for women suffering domestic violence could not be met. She said it was “shameful” for society that this need could not be met.

“Domestic violence is a social crime,” she added. “It is our duty as a society to put in place every possible measure to help those who find themselves in such a terrible situation.”

She called for a full reversal to the cuts in services to deal with domestic violence, and recognition of all the “associated controlling, manipulative, behaviour” from abusive partners.

Migrant women

“It is not right as a society that we deny individuals access to support because they are not citizens,” she added. It was not right that migrant women were forced to stay with abusive partners because they controlled their immigration documents.

Dublin Cllr Janice Boylan said women had no legal right to paid leave when going through such violence, and in that way "these victims are being victimised even further".

She said economic independence “plays a crucial role” in the ability to escape domestic violence.

Cllr Boylan said when women used up all their paid leave they were at risk of losing their jobs -and many already had.

She said the failure to offer paid leave to those affected by domestic violence was like society “is still pretending domestic violence doesn’t happen”.