Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2004
21 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the claim made by a person (details supplied) that Ireland has the worst record in the EU for bringing rapists to justice; his views on this assessment; the steps he intends to take to deal with it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20684/04]
View answerAs I previously outlined to the House on 15 May 2004, 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. As the Deputy is only too well aware, the Director of Public Prosecutions is independent in his function and it would, therefore, be inappropriate for me to comment on his decisions.
I understand from the Garda authorities that the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, in keeping with the annual policing plan, has commenced a research project on sexual offences. It is envisaged that this research will provide an insight into the attrition rates in sexual offences.
I have also recently provided funding to the department of law at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, for comprehensive research into attrition rates in rape cases. Following from this research, it is hoped that we will have a greater understanding as to why some victims chose not to report cases to the gardaí, what we can do with regard to underreporting and why, of the cases reported, only a relatively small percentage result in a court hearing.
