Peadar Tóibín
Question:1517. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who have been prosecuted for a sexual assault in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [39903/22]
View answerTuesday, 26 July 2022
Questions (1517)
Written answers
I can assure the Deputy that this Government is deeply committed to tackling sexual violence and sexual crime in all its forms.
Working to ensure that victims feel empowered to report sexual crimes and that when they do, they are fully supported at every stage of their interaction with our justice system, is a priority for me as Minister for Justice.
Building a system that victims have confidence in is central to the actions set out in Supporting a Victim’s Journey . The implementation of the important reforms set out in this detailed action plan is continuing and a number of key actions have already been delivered including:
- Legislating for the introduction of preliminary trial hearings which will reduce delay and disruption that might re-traumatise victims;
- The completion of the nationwide rollout of Divisional Protective Services Units (DPSUs);
- The first cohort of staff at a new sexual offences unit in the Director of Public Prosecutions office formally took up their roles in April 2021;
- Work to advance the training for all personnel who come into contact with vulnerable victims is underway;
- The University of Limerick has been commissioned by the Department to develop the framework for the operation and training of intermediaries and the first cohort of students will begin this course in September;
- A review of the supports and funding of civil society organisations providing frontline services to victims of sexual offences was conducted to identify where gaps may exist and how to bridge them and additional funding has been provided to a number of organisations in response to the findings of this mapping exercise.
The Deputy will also be aware that I recently brought to Government 'Zero Tolerance: the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence'. This new plan has a particular focus on prevention, and on ensuring victims are better supported.
In relation to specific information sought by the Deputy on the number of prosecutions for sexual assault in the past 10 years, I would remind the Deputy that the decision to prosecute in such cases is a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions who is independent in her functions. This is not something that I as Minister for Justice have any role in.