Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2024
489. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice if she will commit to providing a date for the publication of the delays in the processing of sex crime in Ireland: stakeholder perspectives report; will she accept that the publication of this report will be a vital contribution to the public debate on this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10322/24]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, in May 2021, the Department of Justice published a Request for Tender to conduct a review of stakeholder experiences in the processing of sexual offences in Ireland on foot of the O’Malley Review findings in 2020.
The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of those involved in the processing of sexual offence cases in Ireland, and to understand their views with regard to issues which contribute to delays in sexual offences cases being processed and the potential effectiveness of measures adopted to address those problems.
Based upon their Research Tender Submission, Dr Marie Keenan and Dr Deirdre Healy, both of University College Dublin, were selected to complete the report, and a final draft of the report was submitted to my Department in November 2023. In the interim, there has been engagement with the authors to provide additional clarifications.
It is my intention to publish the report in the near future, but it is not possible to provide a specific date at this point. The Department and Cuan, the new Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Agency, will consider the report’s recommendations as part of the broader DSGBV Strategy implementation to improve outcomes for victims of sexual offences. This will be taken forward in collaboration with relevant departments and agencies.
