Peadar Tóibín
Question:406. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons arrested for rape or sexual assault in each county in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023. [45376/23]
View answerDáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
406. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons arrested for rape or sexual assault in each county in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023. [45376/23]
View answerI 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, has been a priority for me as Minister for Justice.
Building the confidence of victims is a cornerstone of the actions set out in Supporting a Victim’s Journey. The implementation of this important action plan is continuing and a number of key actions have already been delivered including:
• The establishment of a course in University of Limerick to train intermediaries;
• Legislating for preliminary trial hearings;
• Undertaking a mapping exercise to identify gaps in services and supports provided for victims, both geographically and by service type, and the provision of increased funding to address them; and
• The first cohort of staff at a new sexual offences unit in the Director of Public Prosecutions took up their roles.
Last year, I published Zero Tolerance - Third National Strategy to combat Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which underlines the Government’s commitment to tackling sexual violence in all its forms. The plan recognises the importance of strong legislation, of reporting, of supports for victims and of a co-ordinated approach in our work with victims, and outlines the actions we will take in each of these areas.
I am also very aware of the importance of comprehensive and robust data in this area. That is why my Department commissioned the CSO to undertake a national survey of the prevalence of sexual violence, the results of which were published in April. This will provide an important baseline for evaluating the vital work across all of Government under the Zero Tolerance Strategy.
In relation to the specific information sought by the Deputy on the number of persons arrested for rape or sexual assault in each county in the State in each of the past ten years, I have sought this information from An Garda Síochána and it is presented in the table below.
A search of the PULSE database was conducted for Custody Logs associated with incidents in the Category “Sexual Offences” and where the arrest or entry date occurs during the period 01/01/2012 – 15/10/2023
The number of Custody Logs by Division and by year in the period 2012 to the 15th of October 2023 is shown in the table below.
Region |
Division |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023(1) |
Dublin Region |
D.M.R. Eastern |
20 |
23 |
19 |
27 |
20 |
34 |
27 |
21 |
28 |
20 |
28 |
21 |
Dublin Region |
D.M.R. North Central |
57 |
36 |
30 |
31 |
24 |
25 |
41 |
47 |
71 |
69 |
62 |
60 |
Dublin Region |
D.M.R Northern |
57 |
35 |
32 |
52 |
51 |
75 |
59 |
62 |
43 |
70 |
52 |
54 |
Dublin Region |
D.M.R. South Central |
32 |
42 |
46 |
45 |
41 |
38 |
62 |
61 |
63 |
55 |
39 |
18 |
Dublin Region |
D.M.R. Southern |
39 |
41 |
54 |
61 |
65 |
74 |
51 |
61 |
66 |
111 |
45 |
43 |
Dublin Region |
D.M.R. Western |
45 |
36 |
40 |
38 |
47 |
30 |
33 |
36 |
57 |
62 |
46 |
36 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Kildare Div |
12 |
18 |
29 |
28 |
22 |
27 |
26 |
43 |
51 |
54 |
57 |
33 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Kilkenny/Carlow |
30 |
27 |
18 |
32 |
39 |
39 |
32 |
40 |
38 |
30 |
24 |
26 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Laois/Offaly |
16 |
23 |
29 |
20 |
33 |
45 |
45 |
36 |
45 |
63 |
46 |
47 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Meath Div |
37 |
23 |
14 |
19 |
16 |
14 |
28 |
22 |
23 |
33 |
26 |
31 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Waterford Div |
50 |
46 |
48 |
43 |
29 |
42 |
60 |
43 |
77 |
65 |
93 |
57 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Westmeath Div |
12 |
* |
* |
15 |
13 |
14 |
11 |
25 |
19 |
23 |
17 |
15 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Wexford Div |
16 |
14 |
30 |
31 |
43 |
48 |
41 |
48 |
76 |
76 |
72 |
58 |
Eastern Region (NEW) |
Wicklow Div |
15 |
14 |
39 |
23 |
26 |
27 |
20 |
38 |
36 |
36 |
20 |
35 |
North Western Region |
Cavan/Monaghan |
43 |
34 |
24 |
28 |
22 |
26 |
37 |
32 |
25 |
24 |
29 |
36 |
North Western Region |
Donegal |
29 |
24 |
21 |
29 |
28 |
47 |
45 |
46 |
29 |
50 |
27 |
40 |
North Western Region |
Galway Div |
25 |
31 |
20 |
21 |
41 |
34 |
24 |
25 |
31 |
35 |
22 |
32 |
North Western Region |
Louth |
24 |
15 |
25 |
27 |
36 |
35 |
19 |
36 |
31 |
29 |
27 |
22 |
North Western Region |
Mayo/Roscommon/Longford |
17 |
17 |
23 |
32 |
34 |
30 |
39 |
39 |
50 |
51 |
41 |
27 |
North Western Region |
Sligo/Leitrim |
12 |
13 |
10 |
11 |
13 |
16 |
15 |
29 |
19 |
18 |
28 |
* |
Southern Region (New) |
Clare/Tipperary |
54 |
62 |
36 |
70 |
56 |
58 |
39 |
52 |
58 |
78 |
80 |
35 |
Southern Region (New) |
Cork City |
44 |
43 |
53 |
38 |
33 |
45 |
49 |
48 |
45 |
49 |
45 |
30 |
Southern Region (New) |
Cork North |
23 |
22 |
29 |
36 |
33 |
34 |
53 |
50 |
33 |
29 |
37 |
32 |
Southern Region (New) |
Cork West |
13 |
18 |
19 |
10 |
14 |
14 |
22 |
21 |
22 |
20 |
13 |
13 |
Southern Region (New) |
Kerry |
26 |
29 |
27 |
36 |
22 |
28 |
30 |
41 |
32 |
30 |
33 |
44 |
Southern Region (New) |
Limerick |
44 |
51 |
41 |
41 |
53 |
45 |
57 |
49 |
60 |
48 |
59 |
46 |
(1) - Up to 15/10/2023
*- Less than 10
Additional Information
Incident data is based upon operational data from the PULSE system as was available at 01:00 on 16/10/2023 and is liable to change.