I refer the Deputy to my reply to Questions Nos. 212 and 213 of Thursday, 28 June 2007.
Cosc — The National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence was established on 25 June 2007. I am aware that some concern was expressed about the remit of the newly established Cosc office. I would like to reiterate that as announced on 18 April, 2007 and on several occasions since that date, the remit of the office very emphatically includes violence against women. The wider remit of the office covers (i) domestic and sexual violence against women, (ii) domestic and sexual violence against men and (iii) elder abuse. The State/Non-governmental structures already in place to deal with violence against women will continue and will be strongly supported by the new office. Prior to the establishment of the Cosc, responsibility for this area within my Department was assigned to Divisions with a wide number of other responsibilities. The appointment of the Executive Director to Cosc, raises the profile and the focus on this work within my Department. Responsibility for this area was further dispersed across a number of Government Departments and agencies. For the first time there is now in prospect a dedicated, resourced office at Government level, with the key responsibility to ensure the delivery of a well co-ordinated "whole of Government" response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Cosc is to collaborate closely with the service providers who support victims and treat perpetrators. It has already begun work to achieve its tasks, which are: to work with Government Departments, Agencies and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the sector to ensure the delivery of a well co-ordinated service to support victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; to develop and deliver awareness raising strategies to ensure that victims are aware of the availability of services in their locality and that society is made aware of the extent and impact of behaviours and crimes of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; to develop strategies to address the issues of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in line with best international practice; to further develop standards for service delivery and for training programmes which address domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; to put in place strategically based positive actions which work with perpetrators of domestic violence; to provide leadership and support to the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women (NSC) and its sub-committees; to continue to implement the recommendations of the 1997 Task Force on Violence against Women; to consider and where relevant facilitate the implementation of internationally established best practice throughout the sector; to work with the National Crime Council and external bodies as appropriate to establish a body of research to inform future policy directions for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; to represent Ireland at international fora which have a remit in relation to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
I am happy to inform the Deputy that the Secretary General and some officials of my Department met with representatives of the non-governmental organisations working in the Violence Against Women sector in June and discussed their concerns. The recently appointed head of Cosc participated in that meeting. Since then she has met with many of the State and non-governmental organisations on a bilateral basis, in addition to chairing the two quarterly meetings of the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women (NSC) where she provided further clarity in relation to the remit of Cosc. I am informed that all of these meetings were held in a positive and collaborative atmosphere and that a good foundation has been laid for work into the future.
I would assure the Deputy, unequivocally, that the establishment of Cosc is to ensure the delivery of a well co-ordinated "whole of Government" response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence which includes the key features — protection, provision and prevention.
