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Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019

Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Questions (879)

Jim O'Callaghan

Question:

879. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has commissioned a report into the links between violence and deprivation in areas here; if so, the findings of the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33107/19]

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Written answers

As the Deputy is aware, there have been many international academic studies undertaken on the link between social deprivation and different forms of violence in society and commentators have long suggested that deprivation can be one of the main factors contributing to a person becoming involved in violent crime.

While there are no plans in my Department to commence a specific study on deprivation and violence at this time, it is worth noting that my Department regularly engages with a number of stakeholders in the criminal justice system and is also involved in a number of initiatives aimed at understanding and combatting different forms of violence in our society.

For example, in January my Department and the CSO signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the undertaking of the National Sexual Violence Prevalence Survey. The CSO will undertake a large scale survey which will look in detail at the experience of women and men in Ireland of sexual violence and abuse, with repeat large scale surveys every decade.

Furthermore, in May of this year I announced that I was commissioning an independent specialist in-depth research study focussing on the provision of supports to families who are victims of familicide and international best practice in the conduct of Domestic Homicide Reviews. Ms Norah Gibbons has been appointed to lead the study and she will be joined by Senior Counsel Grainne McMorrow and the internationally recognised Forensic Criminologist Dr Jane Monckton Smith.

The Deputy will be aware that the responsibility for tackling deprivation rests across a number of Departments, agencies and service providers. There would need to be careful and extensive planning before any study on deprivation and violence could be conducted, to ensure that no element of society is excluded from its scope.

Indeed, one of the most far-reaching recommendations from the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI) is that community safety is not the responsibility of An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice and Equality alone, but extends to many other Government Departments and agencies. Work to develop and embed a policy of community safety has begun and key to developing a shared understanding of and, following on from that, a community safety policy, will be the engagement and commitment of the agencies and bodies across Government who share responsibility for the prevention of harm in our communities.

As the Deputy may also be aware, the National Social Target for Poverty Reduction is to reduce the percentage of the population in consistent poverty to 2% or less by 2020. The 2017 Survey on Income & Living (SILC) conditions data showed a decrease in consistent poverty to 6.7%, a significant reduction from the 2016 rate of 8.2%. It is expected that there will be a further improvement in the rate in the 2018 and 2019 SILC data, once it becomes available, reflecting both the impact of economic growth and budgetary changes in 2018 and 2019.

The new social inclusion strategy – ‘A Roadmap for Social Inclusion: Ambitions, Goals, Commitments 2019-2025 ’, is the successor to the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2017. It has been developed, following consultation with relevant Government Departments and other stakeholders, and is currently being finalised by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

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