Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022
335. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice the number of engagements, including online meetings, webinars, briefings and in-person meetings she or officials from her Department have had with the National Women's Council of Ireland from 1 January 2019 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10581/22]
View answerI met with the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) on 21 July 2020, where I was briefed on the work and priorities of NWCI and in particular, on matters in relation to violence against women and girls, and women and leadership across the Justice sector. I met with the NWCI again at the National Observatory on Violence Against Women and Girls Webinar on 10 December 2021.
Minister Humphreys met with NWCI during the All-island Women's Forum Webinar on 30 September 2021 and I am informed that the former Secretary General met with the NWCI on the 22 August 2019.
My Department partnered with the NWCI and Safe Ireland in the development of the next National Strategy on Sexual, Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV). An Executive Committee, consisting of a representative of my Department, NWCI and Safe Ireland, and two consultants engaged to assist with the work, has met fortnightly since mid-2021 to date to oversee the development of the Strategy.
The NWCI has also participated in a range of meetings convened by my Department to monitor implementation of the current DSGBV Strategy and to progress Supporting a Victim’s Journey (the O’Malley Implementation plan), for which a number of subgroups have been established to address specific tasks. They are also members of the advisory group aligned to current DSGBV awareness campaigns and were involved, along with other DSGBV NGOs, in the development of the Still Here campaign in partnership with the Department.
