Barry Cowen
Ceist:118. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Justice the initiatives being taken to provide greater supports to victims of crime; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36808/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 8 July 2021
Ceisteanna (118)
Freagraí scríofa
I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this matter and I can assure the Deputy that protecting and supporting victims of crime is a key priority for me.
Justice Plan 2021 has a number of actions including to strengthen community safety, reduce reoffending, support victims and combat domestic sexual and gender-based violence. The implementation of Supporting a Victim’s Journey is an important element in delivering on this.
While Minister McEntee is on maternity leave, I am chairing the Implementation Oversight Group comprising all relevant Departments and Agencies to implement Supporting a Victim’s Journey .
My Department is carrying out a mapping exercise to identify the nature, spread and level of services that may be encompassed by Supporting a Victim’s Journey , and to identify where gaps in support exist and how to improve those areas, as reflected in objective 133 in the 2021 Justice Action Plan. We are working in partnership with organisations that support victims of crime to ensure the victim’s perspective and voice is at the heart of what we do. Important physical and emotional supports and services are provided by NGOs, and the reform and development of these services is being done in partnership between the State, as funder, and the voluntary sector, as provider.
We have reviewed our grant schemes for organisations working with victims of crime. We asked each NGO to identify the precise categories of victims they work with, the services they provide and the geographical areas they work in. The funding available increased from €2m in 2020 to €4m this year. We have allocated most of the 2021 grant money, but are still analysing the data to see where gaps remain so we can work to fill those. We are also offering multi-annual funding commitments to those NGOs we work most closely with and where the funding covers staff salaries. This is to promote more sustainable service delivery and planning. These grants cover court accompaniment, accompaniment to Garda interviews and to sexual assault treatment units, emotional support, counselling and referral to other services.
COVID-19 has allowed the Courts Service to move forward several years in terms of use and acceptance of a virtual courtroom platform, and to develop positive engagement models with many of its stakeholders. This includes 49 new or upgraded video Courtrooms being provided throughout 2021. This has positive implications for vulnerable witnesses and victims in the courtroom setting. There is €8m set aside for a court modernisation programme
As I mentioned, we are also working with our NGO partners and others to map the journey faced by individual victims to identify issues and support needs not met. The working group leading on this task has met and the NGOs have presented us with a considerable amount of data, which is currently being analysed. When this analysis is complete, the group will reconvene to identify and agree actions to be taken to meet those needs.
Another group is working on the development of an approach to meeting training needs of a wide range of front-line staff and professionals, including legal professionals. My Department is in the process of engaging a consultant to conduct a mapping exercise of specialised training, to identify existing provision and where additional training provision is required.
A third subgroup is looking at developing a framework for the operation and training of intermediaries. We have partnered with the University of Limerick on this. The O’Malley Review commits to the introduction of intermediaries who will assist in the communication process, whether between lawyers and witnesses during trial or, earlier, during Garda interviews. Their use will be rolled out on a pilot basis initially, one in Dublin and one in another part of the country.
Last year the Department of Justice published a new and expanded Victims Charter. The updated charter takes account of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017, which sets out the rights of victims of crime, and seeks to assist victims of crime in locating services available to them. The charter was developed by my Department in consultation with all relevant State agencies and organisations including An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the DPP, as well a wide range of non-governmental organisations and groups representing victims themselves.
The charter sets out information on the services offered by the State as well as voluntary groups who work with victims of crime. The charter also outlines out how to get in touch with relevant services and what supports the various services can offer to victims of crime. Significantly, the charter describes the criminal justice system from the perspective of a victim of crime, so that victims can understand what to expect from their interaction with the system.
Earlier this year, Minister McEntee launched a redesigned Victims Charter website, Victimscharter.ie. The website brings together all of the information a victim of crime might need to know about their rights and about what to expect from their engagement with the criminal justice system. It also provides details of all the different supports that are available both when engaging with the criminal justice system and more generally. It presents the information in an easily accessible and user-friendly way that will allow victims of crime to quickly and easily find the information they need.
My Department is planning a campaign to raise awareness of the rights provided in the Victims of Crime Act 2017. This will include printed materials and social media messaging around a wide range of topics such as how to make a report and what to expect if you are called to be a witness in a trial, what happens when the trial is over, etc. The printed material will be translated into Irish and a number of other languages widely-used in Ireland, and will focus on making people aware of the Victims Charter and the rights afforded to people when they become a victim of a crime.
I am confident that these initiatives will ensure that when victims of crime begin to engage with the criminal justice system, they will know what to expect, what their legally enforceable rights are, and the supports available at every step in the process.
Finally, on the legislative side, the Criminal Procedures Bill, which introduces preliminary trial hearings for the first time in Irish law, was signed into law recently. Benefits will include making it less likely the jury will be sent away during the trial to allow the judge to hear legal arguments and reducing the impact on the victim who will have prepared themselves mentally, only to be met with delays.