Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 14 Mar 1995

Vol. 450 No. 6

Written Answers. - Alleged Sexual Abuse.

Pat Gallagher

Question:

132 Mr. P. Gallagher (Laoighis-Offaly) asked the Minister for Justice the number of cases of alleged child sexual abuse reported to the Garda in each of the years 1991 to 1994; the number of such cases referred by the Garda to the DPP; and the number of prosecutions which resulted. [3567/95]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. Child sexual abuse can involve crimes of different kinds, for example, rape, indecent assault and are recorded under such headings.

The following information relating to crimes against children, under 15 years of age, has been extracted from a number of existing categories of crime — that is, unnatural offences, indecent assault, rape, indecent assault on females, defilement of girls, incest — and is the best available estimate of the information sought by the Deputy.

Year	Number of offences reported or known
1991	174
1992	225
1993	243
1994	249

The Director of Public Prosecutions would have been consulted in all of the above cases where the Garda had sufficient evidence to require his decision as to whether a prosecution should be initiated. However, the actual number of the above cases referred by the Garda to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the number of those cases which resulted in prosecution is not readily available.