Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 1 Feb 2023

Vol. 1032 No. 5

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Crime Prevention

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

I ask the Minister of State to listen carefully and to take note. I await his answer with interest. I hope we see some positive news in it but even if we do not, the crucial thing is that this message is relayed back to the Department, the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, Deputy Simon Harris. Carrigaline, for those familiar with it, is a large town of some 15,000 people. It has grown rapidly. As recently as 1961, there were fewer than a thousand people in the town. It is a commuter town, the population of which has multiplied in the last decade or two because of its proximity to Cork city and the many positive things about the town. It has a lot of employment, many amenities and a strong sense of community. With that growth, investment in resources has not followed adequately. There have been some improvements. We have seen the development of the Carrigaline Lions Youth Centre and some improvements to the roads and in public transport. In one particular area, at least, resources have not adequately followed. Carrigaline is still dealing with crime prevention and Garda numbers that reflect the time when the town was much smaller. About two years ago, I did an analysis which found that of all the towns with a population of more than 10,000, Carrigaline had the fourth lowest number of gardaí. Of the remaining three towns, two were in close proximity to each other, namely, Celbridge and Leixlip. At present, there are 21 gardaí in Carrigaline, three sergeants and 18 gardaí. That is fewer than in summer 2020 when there were 23. If we break that figure down and take away the three sergeants, the warrants and firearms officer, the community gardaí and detectives, we are down to 12 or 13 gardai who are dedicated on a full-time basis to responding to incidents and patrolling the streets.

Carrigaline has a very young population, with 5,000 people or one in three of the population under the age of 18. It is important that we plan for the future and ensure the town has the resources it needs. Unfortunately, I have been asked to raise this matter by countless people in the community in recent weeks because of a number of very worrying incidents. In late December, there was a very serious assault which sadly led to the death of Mr. Matt O'Neill. I send my condolences to his family. Subsequently, in January, a teenager was stabbed and injured. Unfortunately, we have seen a number of these incidents over the last couple of years. It is shocking and upsetting to people in the town. Carrigaline is a very positive town with a fantastic story to tell and a great community spirit despite its rapid growth. It has a very vibrant scene of clubs and organisations and community infrastructure. However, it is a town that has grown exponentially and it deserves much better. With the Garda numbers available, there are barely enough gardaí to keep the station open and a patrol car out at night and during the day as well. The Garda cannot do what it would love to do which would be to put teams of two gardaí out on the street. We all know from the evidence that visibility of policing is the biggest deterrent to crime. In Carrigaline the resources are not available to put teams of two gardaí out patrolling the streets. There is barely enough to keep the squad car and the office open.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice (Deputy James Browne)

As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes the allocation of Garda resources. The Minister for Justice, Deputy Simon Harris, has no direct role in matters of operational policing. The Government is committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with record funding of more that €2.14 billion allocated in the Garda budget in 2023. This includes the provision for the recruitment of up to 1,000 additional Garda members and 400 Garda staff this year and will enable sustained ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff.

I know the Minister engages regularly with the Garda authorities with a view to ensuring that every possible support is in place to deliver on this level of recruitment. I am advised by the Garda authorities that the number of attestations in 2022 was 369, with 145 in January, 70 in March, 101 in May and 53 in July.

The recruitment campaign last year for An Garda Síochána saw 11,000 people apply to join the service, which is a very positive and welcome response from the public.

I know An Garda Síochána plans to run another recruitment campaign this year to ensure there is a strong pipeline of new recruits going forward. I am informed by the Garda authorities that at the end of December 2022, there were 14,133 members of An Garda Síochána, supported by more than 3,126 whole-time equivalent Garda staff. This represents an increase of just over 10% since 2015 when there were 12,816 Garda members in the country. In addition, recruitment of Garda staff has allowed Garda members to move from administrative to front-line roles.

I understand that Carrigaline Garda station has 21 Garda members assigned as at the end of last year, with three sergeants and 18 gardaí. For example, comparing Garda resource allocation at the end of 2015 with the end of last year, the Togher district, which encompasses Carrigaline Garda station, has witnessed an increase in Garda members of more than 57%. By the end of last year, more than 880 Garda members had been assigned to operational roles under the Garda reassignment initiative and their previous roles assigned to Garda civilian staff. I am advised that An Garda Síochána is currently reviewing what further posts can be civilianised. Continued recruitment of Garda staff this year will further allow for trained Garda members to be freed up for front-line duties, where their training and policing expertise are vital in improving community safety and services to the public generally. Another key element of the Garda reform programme is the new operating model, which continues to be rolled out across all 19 Garda divisions. The new model is designed to streamline Garda administration and provide a more visible, responsive and localised policing service to communities nationwide.

The Minister will continue to engage closely with the Garda Commissioner in relation to the implementation of this ambitious programme of Garda reform and other measures to combat crime in our communities.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

As a small aside, it is a bit peculiar to make reference to districts given that the new operating model is based on the divisional model, as the Minister of State has mentioned. The districts are not really the metric any more. Making a comparison with 2015, which was the lowest point, is something of a distraction. In any event, we are focused on a particular part of the district, which is quite large and takes in much of the south side of Cork city and the outlying area. The population of much of that area has not significantly changed for the past 20 or 30 years. The issue here is that Carrigaline has grown exponentially, and I expect the same can be said of other commuter towns. Its population has exploded, multiplying in the past decade or two, and Garda resources have not kept pace. If there were to be an incident at night in one of the outlying areas, like Crosshaven or Passage, or if gardaí have to provide support in Douglas, there is no squad car in a town of 15,000 people, 5,000 of whom are under the age of 18.

Some of the frustration on the ground is that gardaí do not have the capacity to go beyond just responding to issues. An awful lot of the focus of the community policing model, and even the new operating model, is about being proactive, building connections with community and preventing crime. If the resources are not there to put two gardaí on to the street to patrol a community, then that effort is seriously hampered. We need to get to a point where gardaí are not just firefighting but are proactively preventing crime, and are in a position to put strategies in place.

The gardaí on the ground are absolutely fantastic. There are some really excellent gardaí. People will be familiar with the two community gardaí, Garda Damien Craven and Garda Stephen Cleary. There are many others but they are enormously stretched. The population figure I have given is taken from the most recent available census figures but I expect it could be close to 18,000 by the time the results of the latest census come back.

I have made the point that there are 5,000 young people in the town, which is a huge number at one in three of the population. The youth diversion project in the community does not have a permanent building. That needs to be considered because we need to plan for the long term, which is something for which the Department does have direct responsibility.

Deputy James Browne

I again thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this very important matter. I will certainly convey his concerns to the Minister, Deputy Harris, on whose behalf I also thank the Deputy.

The Deputy will be aware that the Government is rolling out a number of policy and legislative initiatives, which will reduce the level of criminal behaviour in our communities. These include introducing legislation to provide body worn cameras for gardaí and community CCTV schemes; rolling out the community safety innovation fund to drive the development of community safety projects at local level; examining the use of antisocial behaviour orders to ensure they are as effective as possible; introducing legislation to criminalise the grooming of children; and providing An Garda Síochána with new powers to cease and stop illegal use of scrambler bikes.

As recognised by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, improving community safety requires a multi-sectoral approach, strong inter-agency collaboration and engagement from the community. The policy of establishing local community safety partnerships in communities, which is being rolled out by the Minister, will play a key role by creating tailor-made community safety plans with input from the local community and public services. An Garda Síochána will play a vital role in delivering this enhanced approach to community safety in local areas. I know the Minister trusts the Garda Commissioner and his team to continue making operational decisions on the best use of resources provided in the interests of all of our communities. This is more than simply a matter for An Garda Síochána. The Deputy rightly referred to youth diversion projects as well. We have seen a substantial increase in funding for youth diversion projects in the past two budgets - €6.7 million in the first budget and €2.9 million in the second. Coming from a base of about €15 million that is a huge increase, and we will continue with that roll-out.

Local Authorities

Deputy Bríd Smith

Lá le Bríde faoi mhaise daoibh freisin. This is my day, so I hope I have success with this topic. I know which Minister of State is taking this matter. I will use photographs and hand them to him when I am leaving. What I am looking at here is the age old question of mould and damp in local authority housing, and I want to remind the House that in 2015 a landmark collective complaint against Ireland from across 20 local authority estates was taken to the European Court of Justice. In 2017, the court found Ireland guilty and insisted that there must be rapid and immediate changes made to local authority houses.

As late as last night, I visited Emmet Buildings in Dublin 8 and I also recently visited Oliver Bond flats. To say that people are living in disgracefully damp and mouldy conditions is probably an understatement. That is why I want to hand the Minister of State these photographs. They are incredible. I happened to be with a local school teacher who teaches in St. Brigid's National School in the Coombe. She mentioned to me the level of absenteeism and children being unable to attend school because of the impact that mould and damp has on their health. I have statements here from the World Health Organization and the National Health Service, two authorities that are looking at the question of mould and damp in local authority accommodation. This is poor accommodation that is impacting on respiratory health, the health of the skin, the health of children in particular but also the health of elderly people. The loss of time out of school should be enough to wake this Government up to the fact that these issues need to be dealt with in a timely fashion.

It is five years, maybe going on for six years, since the European Court of Justice ruled on this matter and very little has changed for these tenants. There are immediate solutions. They need better ventilation and new windows. Most of these flats still have single-glazed windows. They also need a retrofitting programme. However, at a minimum they need new windows and improved ventilation should be available to all of these local authority tenants. When we ask Dublin City Council what it is going to do about this issue this is the response. I have a question here to the chief executive in which I asked if there is climate action funding available.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

When was the letter sent?

Deputy Bríd Smith

It was sent on 17 January. I asked if there was funding available in terms of climate action targets and for health and safety in these flat complexes. I asked what the council could do about them. The council stated that there is no specific Government fund available for window replacement and if additional funding becomes available, it can add more projects to the list. That is just not good enough. Funding needs to be made available, at least through actions to meet climate targets, to deal with this issue. There is a whole plethora of other issues to do with living in these complexes in the inner city. By the way, they are beautiful buildings, designed by Herbert George Simms. They would have won prizes back in the day. However, there have been hints from the council that these flats might go to the Land Development Agency. The LDA would love to flatten them because Emmet Buildings is surrounded by 12- and 14-storey high-rise vulture fund built accommodation. These are either aparthotels, student accommodation or very expensive apartments. More are planned.

It is not right to treat communities like this. They are the heart of the city. Hundreds of families are living in these conditions and although regeneration is promised, it takes far too long to deal with fundamental and basic health problems that these people face daily. What I want to tease out today is what the Government is going to do to insist that local authorities step up to the mark and deliver health and safety to people in their dwellings.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Kieran O'Donnell)

I thank Deputy Smith for raising this important issue. In accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, local authorities are legally responsible for the management and maintenance of their housing stock. They also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the regulations and focus on tenants’ safety. They specify the exact requirements in respect of a range of matters such as ventilation, structural repair and fire safety and ventilation, which have been specifically referred to by the Deputy. They also include sanitary facilities, heating and the safety of gas, oil and electrical installations. These regulations apply to all properties let or available for let, including social housing. All landlords, including local authorities, have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with the standards set down in the regulations.

Local authorities take cases of mould very seriously. Some 81% of Dublin City Council’s social housing units were built before the introduction of the building regulations in 1991. The Deputy referred to the fact that many of these are older buildings. Dwellings constructed prior to 1960 tend to have solid walls which are not very good at retaining heat. Dublin City Council is very keen to work closely with their tenants in helping to combat mould issues. In recent years, the council has carried out various works to help eliminate condensation. Phase 1 of its energy efficiency programme, with funding from my Department, saw 8,057 units upgraded with cavity walls and attics insulated. In phase 2, a further 1,110 units had their facades wrapped and windows upgraded. Some 80% of the council stock had been upgraded by the end of 2022.

The council voids programme, also supported by Department funding, saw 772 voids upgraded in 2022 to the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. A housing condensation group was created by the council in 2017 which has carried out over 20,000 conditional surveys and damp reports on 2,500 units. Of these 2,500 units, mechanical ventilation has been installed in 1,300, which is just over 50% of them.

Responsibility for the enforcement of regulations in the private rental sector, including approved housing bodies' properties, rests with the relevant local authority.

The Deputy referred to Emmet Buildings and Oliver Bond flats. This is a matter which can be taken up with Dublin City Council to ensure that it goes out to visit the places and the residents spoken about by the Deputy. We cannot have children absent from school, as referred to by her.

The Government is committed to ensuring that a high quality stock of rental accommodation is available for households who rent, be it in the private market or in accommodation provided directly by local authorities.

Notwithstanding the legal obligations on local authorities to manage and maintain their housing stock, my Department provides annual funding to local authorities in a focused way to support their work in this area, mainly via the disabled persons grant scheme and the aforementioned energy efficiency retrofitting and voids programmes.

My Department will continue to support local authorities in these focused stock improvement works and work is also ongoing with the local authority sector, through the City and County Management Association, CCMA, to drive a planned maintenance approach to the management and maintenance of all local authority housing stock. Local authorities are entrusted with providing high quality housing stock to social housing tenants.

The Department is funding the development of a national asset management system for the sector that should greatly assist the sector in this task.

There is a rental standing committee up and running in my Department with a number of local authorities. It looks at rental properties, and the Department and councils deal with properties. Dublin City Council is a member of that standing committee. It met in January and is due to meet again in early March. I will take up the matters raised by the Deputy specifically in respect of the tenants in Emmet Buildings and Oliver Bond flats with my Department and will make direct contact with Dublin City Council.

Deputy Bríd Smith

I thank the Minister of State and I could say that I am very encouraged by that answer but I am not. I repeat that it is six years since the European court ruled against this State for the way in which local authority tenants are treated and the conditions in which they have to live, specifically around damp and mould, sewage and other problems.

When one goes into one of these estates, the problems run deeper. There is rat infestation and playgrounds are not updated and are slippy and dangerous for children. In the case of Emmet Buildings, there is no proper emergency access for ambulances or fire brigades. There is a huge amount of absolute negligence.

The fact that Ireland was found to be guilty on the damp and mould issue is the issue I want to focus on here. I have asked the Minister of State a question which he has not addressed. Can we ensure that at least under climate action, funding is made available to upgrade all of the windows in these houses? One does not have to de-tenant the place to do that or to enter into a big urban regeneration project that lasts for a decade. One just gets the stock and puts in double- or triple-glazed windows in every single flat. This would make a huge difference to the quality of life and the level of mould and damp. To state the obvious, it would help to improve people's income in a cost-of-living crisis where they are paying a fortune to keep their flats warm. That is one specific question I would ask the Minister of State to address, namely, to try to get climate funding to deal with this issue of the windows and to ensure that proper ventilation is installed in every apartment.

Beyond that, if the Minister of State is meeting Dublin City Council, it also has to deal with rat infestation in many of these blocks. Some of this happens because buildings are being erected all around them, but this issue is not being dealt with. There are no responses that are worth a damn. People, very decent families and communities, are living with this day in, day out, children are missing school and health levels are very low.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

On the specific issue raised by the Deputy, Dublin City Council has received State funding. In respect of the energy efficiency schemes in phase 1, with funding from my Department, it saw 8,057 housing units upgraded with cavity walls and attic insulation. In phase 2, a further 1,110 units had their facades wrapped and windows upgraded. Some 80% of the council housing had been upgraded by the end of 2022.

This is a matter that we will take up with Dublin City Council but these are the facts. If there are particular instances in particular buildings where, to date, that has not happened, obviously that is a matter for Dublin City Council. It is a matter we will take up with them and we will look at what funding is required. These are the facts as presented from Dublin City Council. State funding is being provided in the areas spoken about by the Deputy but it is a question of whether there are still buildings to be dealt with in that regard. The Deputy mentioned two buildings, Emmet Buildings and Oliver Bond flats, and we will take up the matter with Dublin City Council but to say that there is no State funding being provided for this area is not the case as there is.

Special Educational Needs

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

Gabhaim buíochas a Leas-Cheann Comhairle and I am grateful that this Topical Issue matter has been selected. It specifically looks at the project to reconfigure three mainstream classes to a two classroom special educational needs base. The National Council for Special Education in November 2021 sanctioned a special class by letter. That process got under way. In April 2022, an application was made to the Department. In September 2022, funding was made available through the additional school accommodation scheme. As I understand it, a design team is now preparing a stage 1 report.

It seems that there is very significant demand. I do not know if the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, is taking this matter. He knows the area well. It has a growing population with significant demand for special educational needs supports and accommodation. What is a reasonable timeframe to deliver on these projects? Where are the barriers? Are they at the Department, in planning or are they within the school? This is much-needed and needs to be delivered within a reasonable timeframe and I would welcome hearing from the Minister of State.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Deputy Thomas Byrne)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Chomhairle. I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague in the Department of Education, the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, who is not available. I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the Dáil the current position in respect of the accommodation needs of Ratoath Junior National School, in Ratoath, County Meath and the firm commitment of the Government, my firm commitment, and the Department of Education's firm commitment to enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to those needs. As outlined by Deputy O'Rourke, the funding for a special educational needs reconfiguration project for Ratoath Junior National School was provided and announced last summer.

A capital allocation has been provided for that associated with the planning and building unit's additional school accommodation scheme.

The project brief is to provide a two-classroom special educational needs base through the reconfiguration of three existing mainstream classrooms. The school submitted formal acceptance of the offer for reconfiguration works on 22 August 2022 and an official approval letter, advising the school of the funding allocated to reconfigure the three classrooms to meet the needs, and to provide a two-classroom special education needs base, was issued by the Department on 2 September 2022.

The delivery of this project has been devolved to the school authority, which is the board of management, which acts as the contracting authority for the project. I have contacted the board of management regarding this project in recent times and recent months as well. What has happened, as the Department knows, and as the school told me and perhaps other local Deputies, is that a design team has been appointed by the school authority for the project. The appointed design team is working on drawing up plans for the reconfiguration and preparing a submission for Department officials to review in that regard. I assure Deputy O'Rourke and our constituents in Meath East that once this submission is provided by the design team to the Department, we will work very hard and quickly to get approval for it from the Department. It is not the biggest job in the history of special education needs provision. It is the reconfiguration of three existing classrooms into two classrooms, so I do not see why it would take an inordinate amount of time.

Over the last two years the Department and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, have worked closely on a more streamlined and joined-up planning process which has ensured a targeted approach to meet demand for special education placements ahead of the new school year. The Department continues to work with the NCSE regarding the short-term requirements for special class and special school places and also the more strategic and longer-term requirements. The number of special classes in mainstream schools has increased from 548 in 2011 to 2,148 in the last school year. Of these, almost 1,900 special classes cater for children with autism. This year, the Department will invest more than €2 billion, or more than one quarter of its budget, in the area of special education needs support. As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, special needs assistants, special classes and special school places are at unprecedented levels.

The parents, the school and Department officials have my absolute commitment that I will work as hard as I can with colleagues to ensure this project is delivered. As I said, it is not the most difficult project that has ever been imagined in the history of education. Having spoken to the school, I know it is committed to the project and the Department is very much committed to it as well.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

I welcome the response from the Minister of State, but it raises the question of why there is a delay. We would have hoped that we would have seen progress for this academic year, and more significant progress. This did not happen. There is now the question of whether this facility will be in place during this academic year or even in time for the start of the next academic year. I note the Minister of State's point regarding the NCSE looking at a streamlined and joined-up planning process. I have also received a response, having engaged with the school. It is saying it is following the Department's procedures and guidelines.

Can efficiencies be gained by looking at these processes? Can these projects be delivered more quickly? Is there more room for improvement in this regard? What is a reasonable timeframe for delivering these projects? On what date are we likely to see this unit opened, all things going to plan? I encourage continued engagement in this regard. I know the Minister of State will do this, but we also need engagement from the Department. I will also engage from my perspective as a local Deputy. It is important that the full range of stakeholders, including the Department, engage in a proactive way. There have been delays and it has taken some time to get documentation together and to respond to requests from the Department. How quickly will this project be delivered? Is there room for efficiencies in the system overall?

Deputy Thomas Byrne

The situation is that there was much discussion about this issue, with parents being on to all of us last year. I was engaging with the board of management at that time, and with Department officials as well. On 2 September 2022, an agreement was completed regarding this project happening. The school was then told to go about doing it. It did that and appointed a design team to do the work. It is currently drawing up plans. As I understand it, this work will not require planning permission. Again, we will wait to see what the design team says, because it is an internal reconfiguration. This is happening. The design team will certainly get this work done and submitted. It was appointed some months ago now and it will put its submission into the Department.

I am now in the Department of Education, as Minister of State with special responsibility for physical education, as well as sport. I will certainly be working closely with officials to ensure there is no delay on our side because I know the importance of this project in Ratoath, as does, to be fair to its members, the board of management of Ratoath junior school as well. They are absolutely committed to this project, but they do have to go through certain procedures. I do not think it has been particularly long since September, although I am as impatient as everybody else for this project to be finished and for our children to have spaces in their local area, which has always been a key priority of the Government and must be a key priority for all of us.

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence

Deputy Holly Cairns

I thank the Leas Cheann-Comhairle for facilitating the discussion of this Topical Issue matter. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, recorded 2,892 victims of sexual violence in 2021, with roughly 80% of these being girls and women. For that same year, Women's Aid received 1,104 disclosures of sexual abuse, including 411 disclosures of rape. This is a specific and serious dimension of the epidemic of gender-based violence.

Today, I am focusing on one aspect of this broader issue, namely, sexual assault treatment units. It was revealed this week that there was a 25% rise in the numbers presenting at the six HSE sexual assault treatment units. This was the first year the figure was above 1,000. One fifth of those were aged between 14 and 17. These units, in Dublin, Galway, Cork, Waterford, Mullingar and Donegal, do incredible work in treating and helping victims who arrive in a highly vulnerable state. They provide specialised care that is focused on the person. These figures underline their crucial role.

Based on the increase last year, I urge the Minister of State to work with the HSE to provide additional funding and posts to support existing services and the expansion of outreach services. The outreach clinics, in particular, are essential. The Cork city unit recently opened clinics in Bantry, in my constituency, and in Tralee. These are welcome developments and we need more of them. We cannot tolerate a situation where, for example, victims of rape have to go two hours in a car before they get to one of the assessment units because, without going into too much detail around it, people cannot shower before they have those assessments and the further people are from those units, the more traumatic it is for them to travel there.

There is clearly an established need for these centres and for more of them. This is specific work that needs highly trained professionals and there must be investment to recruit and train more staff. This is a complex area to discuss. Each and every incident is truly horrific and wrong and it is important that when people experience these awful crimes and violations that they feel they can turn to and trust our health services. It is also important to say that this is a health service that is separate to the Garda. The health services work closely with law enforcement but no one is compelled to make an official report. It is a highly victim-centred approach.

Professor Maeve Eogan, the national clinical lead for the HSE's sexual assault treatment units and consultant obstetrician at the Rotunda Hospital, described the situation very well when she said:

If you are an optimist you would say more people know about our service, so hopefully the totality of sexual crime is not increasing and people are seeking care and seeking support and accessing that at a time and place that suits them and is responsive to their needs.

Given that we know that reported cases of sexual assault and rape are only the tip of the iceberg and that more people are attending these units, it is clear that more specialist centres will facilitate more victims in coming forward and getting tailored medical and psychological assistance.

There is also a need to understand the implications of these numbers. As Professor Eogan stated, it is unclear if these figures relate to an increase in sexual assaults or in reporting.

We need a unified approach to understand the issues involving the HSE, An Garda Síochána, violence support organisations and researchers. Will the Minister of State clarify when the updated Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland survey will be published? It was commenced by the CSO in 2018 and was due for completion within five years. It will be significant in shaping our understanding and policy development.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton)

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. It is a terrible reality that sexual assault and violence continue within our society. The 2022 annual report for sexual assault treatment units, SATUs, in Ireland is yet to be finalised but the provisional data for 2022 show that approximately 1,050 people attended across the six units in Ireland in that year. This represents an increase of 191, or 22%, on the 2021 attendance figure of 859. I note that the 2018 and 2019 attendance figures were almost identical at 941 and 943, respectively. The 2022 figure shows an increase of almost 110, or 12%, on both 2018 and 2019. This 12% increase over the four-year period since 2018 gives perhaps the most balanced view of trends over recent years and should be viewed through the lens of work we are doing across government to encourage more victims to come forward to seek supports and report these heinous crimes.

Sexual violence is defined as any sexual act performed on the victim without consent. SATUs support people who have experienced rape or sexual assault and provide responsive and person-focused care for people aged 14 years and older who have experienced sexual violence. There are six SATUs throughout Ireland located in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Mullingar, Letterkenny and Waterford. Each unit aims to provide care 24 hours a day, seven days a week and respond within three hours to ensure that people can access care in a timely fashion, as set out in the 2023 publication, Sexual Assault Treatment Unit National Guidelines on Referral and Forensic Clinical Examination Following Rape and Sexual Assault. The SATUs are geographically distributed to enable any patient nationally to access the service within a three-hour window, optimising both the health and criminal justice responses to sexual crimes. The Government has always been very clear that regardless of the circumstances in which sexual violence has occurred, a victim of these crimes can and should report their experience to An Garda Síochána.

Victims of these crimes also have the option of calling the excellent front-line services provided by organisations such as the Rape Crisis Centre, which offer non-judgmental support, a listening ear and information. Their services are for both women and men and the work they do in this difficult space needs to be commended. The services provided by SATUs have two main components: the provision of health and supportive care, and the collection of forensic evidence. SATUs are the key health sector supports available to victims of rape and sexual assault. Responsibility for responding to sexual violence is shared across government.

The Government's commitment to tackling the issue of sexual violence is further demonstrated by the publication of the O'Malley review implementation plan, Supporting A Victim’s Journey: A Plan to Help Victims and Vulnerable Witnesses in Sexual Violence Cases, and the work being progressed through the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which was launched last year. Through the Supporting a Victim's Journey plan, a number of recommendations to support victims of sexual crime have been progressed, including recommendations on the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences, the introduction of trained intermediaries, training for front-line professionals and actions to reduce delays in the trial process.

Deputy Holly Cairns

I thank the Minister of State. I have no doubt that she understands the significance of this area. I urge her to speak to the Minister for Health about how the HSE can develop increased capacity and geographical spread to deal with this horrific epidemic. I draw attention to the fact that the initial data show that one fifth of those who attended these units last year - over 200 people - were aged 14 to 17, a particularly worrying number. We do not know if this is due to an increase in rates of assault and violence or an increase in reporting. Regardless, it must be a wake-up call. We know that these figures are replicated in other findings. The National Women's Council of Ireland has highlighted that young women aged 18 to 34 are twice as likely to be subjected to sexual harassment and violence than women on average. In all of the Government's efforts to address gender-based violence, there must be a clear emphasis on responding to these worrying levels among young women.

Every time I raise these issues, I call for immediate reform of sexual and relationship education. Young people need to be properly educated on matters of consent and sexual health; it is that simple. It is clear that delays in these changes are facilitating harm. The debate is long over; we need those reforms now. Sexual assaults and violence at a young age impact a person's whole life. We must do everything we can to prevent these despicable crimes. There must be specific integrated strategies involving health, education, law, youth organisations and sports clubs to respond to this issue. Nothing less than a whole-of-government response is required to intervene effectively.

Deputy Hildegarde Naughton

I thank the Deputy again for raising this important topic. In my concluding remarks, I wish to refer to the SATU policy review, which began in September 2018 and concluded in February 2019 and examined the efficacy of these treatment units. The review team comprised staff from the Department of Health, the then Department of Justice and Equality, the HSE and the SATUs. I am pleased to say the implementation of the policy review recommendations has been completed. The fifth edition of the National Guidelines on Referral and Forensic Clinical Examination Following Rape and Sexual Assault, have been developed this year as an inter-agency document to ensure clearly defined referral pathways exist in order that all people, regardless of age or gender, can access appropriate individualised care that is responsive to their needs. The implementation of the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence strategy for the period 2022 to 2026, as well as the completion of a range of other projects across many Government Departments, will be essential in achieving the aim of reducing sexual crime. Responsibility for responding to sexual violence is shared across the Government. I am aware that the Department of Justice has agreed with the CSO to the development and delivery of a significant new national survey on the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland. It will look in detail at the experience of sexual violence and abuse for both women and men in Ireland. Having the most relevant and up-to-date data on the prevalence of sexual violence will continue to help us to plan for better services and supports for victims, including across SATUs.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We will suspend until Private Members' business.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 9.57 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 10.01 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 9.57 a.m. and resumed at 10.01 a.m.