Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
340. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Justice the number of serious sexual assault crimes reported to gardaí within the Kilkenny-Carlow division in the years of 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49586/23]
View answerCombatting all forms of violence against women and sexual violence is a priority for this Government.
This is reflected in a record 25pc increase of €12m in Budget 2024 allocations and in the development of policy and legislation.
Through the Zero Tolerance Strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence which I launched last year, we want to achieve a society which does not accept violence against women or the attitudes which underpin it.
Key to delivering on its ambition is the establishment of the new statutory based DSGBV Agency, which will be operational early next year.
The agency will have a core budget of €43m next year which will increase nationwide coverage, and will boost the momentum in implementing the Strategy’s ambitious goals.
Under the current Zero Tolerance implementation plan there are 144 actions assigned to various Departments, the majority of which have, or are, progressing in line with the specified timeframes.
• For example, legislation has been enacted to double to maximum sentence for assault causing harm to 10 years, and to introduce standalone offences of stalking and non-fatal strangulation;
• I commenced the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 earlier this month;
• The Sexual Violence Survey 2022 was published by the CSO providing high quality national prevalence data on sexual violence; and
• Awareness campaigns on intimate image abuse and victims of crime have been produced, with another on healthy sexual consent in development.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of all crime statistics.
The CSO produces these statistics using data recorded on An Garda Síochána’s PULSE system and makes regular releases in relation to various crime statistics. The most recent statistics were released on 25 September 2023.
Figures in respect of sexual offences, rape and sexual assault and other sexual offences which were reported to Gardaí in the Kilkenny/Carlow Division, can be found on the CSO website at the following link: data.cso.ie/table/CJQ06
