With Gardai highlighting the rise in domestic abuse calls ahead of Christmas, support for children must be made available upon their return to school.  Since 2020, Alcohol Action Ireland has been calling for the implementation of Operation Encompass to offer immediate support to children and young people experiencing/witnessing domestic violence. This call is supported by the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon. Operation Encompass is a programme in use in the UK and Northern Ireland that sees police alert schools by the following day when they attend a house with children. It allows children to be met with kindness and support in schools. The government’s new strategy on domestic abuse recognises children as victims in their own right, yet there are very few supports to help children in these situations. There is a commitment, however, in the Strategy for the Children First Interdepartmental Group to examine by Q3 2022 how Operation Encompass might be introduced in Ireland. Despite many queries to the relevant authorities, there has been no response as to when or if the programme will be introduced. While alcohol is never an excuse for domestic violence, it is a known aggravating factor in many cases. In Ireland, 1 in 6 children live every day with parental problem alcohol use and in many incidents, alcohol use is the catalyst to significant domestic disruption and abuse...