Vol. 572 No. 4
92 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the recent report, Rape: Still a Forgotten Issue, published at a conference run by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland which found that Ireland has the lowest level of conviction in the EU following allegations of rape; his views on the report's findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23387/03]
The conviction rate shown in the report is based on the number of cases reported to the gardaí which resulted in a conviction in court. In relation to cases where sufficient evidence is available to allow a prosecution to be taken, the recent report, The Criminal Jurisdiction of the Courts, otherwise known as the Fennelly report, shows that figures from 1998 to 2001 indicate that the conviction rate based on cases where a prosecution is proceeded with is 71%.
As the Deputy may be aware, there is a high attrition rate in rape cases in Ireland and a large number of cases reported to the gardaí do not reach prosecution stage for a variety of reasons. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department has recently provided funding for further comprehensive research into attrition rates in rape cases. The research, which is entitled The Understanding of Attrition, Early Withdrawal, the Trial Process and Identifying Possible Changes to Support Complainants in Rape Cases, will be carried out by the department of law at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and the Rape Crisis Network Ireland. This research should give us greater understanding as to why some victims choose not to report cases to the gardaí, what we can do about underreporting and why, of the cases that are reported, only a relatively small percentage result in a court hearing.
