Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
459. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 456 of 9 May 2023, if she has received the necessary information from the Garda authorities to have this PQ answered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30667/23]
View answerI propose this will also serve as a response to PQs 21700/23 and 25642/23 previously raised by the Deputy, to which I had been awaiting observations from An Garda Síochána.
Fear of harassment and violence should never be normalised and nobody should have to think about it as they go about their daily life. Combatting all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a priority for this Government. This is reflected in a significant €9m increase in the Budget 2023 allocation and in the development of our policy and legislation.
Twelve months ago we published our Zero Tolerance strategy. It is an ambitious five-year programme of reform to achieve a society which does not accept domestic violence or the attitudes which underpin it.
The €363 million strategy is built on four pillars – Protection, Prevention, Prosecution and Policy Co-ordination – and the accompanying implementation plan contains 144 detailed actions to be implemented through new oversight structures.
As the Deputy may be aware, the nationwide roll-out of Divisional Protective Service Units (DPSUs), which was an action under both the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and ‘Supporting a Victim's Journey’, has been completed.
There is now a DPSU in every Garda division across the country.
This is to ensure that when vulnerable victims of crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual violence present to Gardaí, they are met with a consistently high standard of specialist, sensitive, professional and expert assistance.
Having previously made enquiries of An Garda Síochána, I have now been informed that no central record exists in relation to the number of cases that each DPSU has dealt with in 2021, 2022 and to-date in 2023. I have been advised that to collate the information would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources, in particular historical figures regarding case-loads.
I am further informed by An Garda Síochána that the Deputy's request has been explored and considered thoroughly by various sections within AGS where it was concluded that it is not possible to report with any reliability on the number of incidents assigned to DPSU staff in the past, due to the transfer and movement of staff due to promotion, and so on.
