Vol. 440 No. 2
9 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Justice the plans, if any, she has to establish special units of trained gardaí to deal with victims of rape and sexual abuse outside the Dublin area; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
47 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Justice the plans, if any, she has to establish special units of trained gardaí to deal with victims of rape and sexual abuse outside the Dublin area; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 47 together.
All members of An Garda Síochána are trained in the investigation of cases of rape and sexual abuse. This training is comprehensive and covers all aspects of such an investigation, including the traumatic effect of the crime on its victim.
However, due to the volume of such cases in the Dublin metropolitan area, a woman and child unit was formed in the area in March 1993 to provide an overview of the investigation of crimes of domestic violence, child sexual abuse and other violent and sexual offences committed against women and children. A key objective of the unit is to ensure a standardised and consistent approach to investigations and to build up within the force a broad body of expertise in this most sensitive area of criminal investigation. The unit assists in the investigation of cases of a serious and complex nature. It is Garda policy that all members should be able to investigate crimes of this nature. The purpose of the unit is to enhance the expertise of the members in this area.
The expertise that has developed within the woman and child unit has been made available to Garda personnel outside the DMA in terms of advice and input to Garda training. This has led to a current review by the Garda authorities of the question of extending the scope of the unit to other areas outside the DMA, following its successful operations there.
I am glad the extension of this excellent service outside the Dublin area is under consideration. Will the Minister agree that problems remain in relation to co-ordinating these cases with social workers? Will she also agree that dealing with cases of sex abuse and crimes of rape calls into question the necessity for legal representation of victims at the trials?
I agree that co-operation between the various agencies involved must be at the highest level possible and in the light of the report of the Kilkenny incest case, and its recommendations in this whole area, there have been ongoing discussions between my officials, officials in the Department of Health and the Garda authorities to try to achieve a high level of inter-agency co-operation. In this regard pilot schemes have been initiated by the Garda in a number of centres, Coolock and Dundrum in Dublin, Henry Street in Limerick and Mill Street in Galway. In the meantime ongoing discussions are continuing between my Department and the Department of Health and we hope to issue a guideline in relation to inter-agency co-operation that could be operated in a practical and efficient way.
I congratulate the Minister on establishing this unit in Dublin. It has been worthwhile and I understand it dealt with 5,000 cases last year. Has the Minister any timetable for the establishment of a similar unit outside Dublin? The fact that so many cases have come to the attention of the unit in Dublin makes it clear that this more centralised approach and the gathering of expertise in one location is necessary. Some professional groups, doctors, social workers, etc., are concerned about the question of confidentiality. Has that concern led to delays in the referral of cases to the Garda and how does the Minister think this should be handled because it is very much tied to the issue under discussion?
Confidentiality is an issue about which the Garda have been very concerned. During the in-service training courses and at the the initial recruitment stage of training in the Garda Training College special emphasis is laid on confidentiality. It was felt for a long time that women were reluctant to report incidents of this kind because they were not always certain they would be treated in a confidential manner. That has changed and the increased levels of reporting indicates there is confidence in the work of the Garda. As regards the timetable for the extension of the service, I am hopeful this will take place before the end of the year. The Deputy Commissioner responsible is anxious to have an extension of the service but it must be done in a planned and programmed way and we hope to extend the service initially to the main-cities.
Has the Minister prepared guidelines on the point at which referrals are made to the Garda? Is the Minister still experiencing difficulty in that area and what is being done to address that? The point at which cases are referred to the Garda when they come to the attention of professionals working in the area is critical.
This is the inter-agency co-operation to which I referred earlier. As I said pilot schemes have commenced in Coolock, Dundrum, Henry Street in Limerick and Mill Street in Galway. They have been working well and we hope to learn from them. We are discussing confidentiality — and when agencies should refer cases of this kind to the Garda — with officials in the Department of Health because both Departments are keenly aware of the necessity to ensure inter-agency co-operation and that case conferences take place in all these instances.
