Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the vast majority of the recommendations, work is already in train or will be included in the strategy, which is really positive. The Chairman mentioned the completion of the first one in respect of a dedicated Minister, the agency and better co-ordinated structures that we are putting in place that I mentioned previously.

In terms of the agency itself, the timeline we have set out is 18 months. There is potential for the time to be shorter or for it to be longer, but I would hope it will not take longer. That is based on the time it has taken for previous agencies to go through the initial phase of passing the legislation, establishment and everything else. We have a critical path, as I mentioned, that my Department has set out, looking at all the actions that need to happen. We have already started that work. We have started engagement with the sector to make sure the structures that are in place are correct. The critical path will be included in the strategy so we will be able to see how things are progressing.

The remit is not just the delivery of service and refuge accommodation but will also include responsibility for the delivery of national campaigns. The latest strategy had a particular focus on national campaigns. It was split into two segments over six years and we had various campaigns around the themes "What would you do?" and "No excuses", which only finished up last year. The intention for the new strategy is that there will be more focused campaigns and education pieces within our schools. We are working closely with the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, on that piece. We are also already working with higher education institutions and the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris. He is working on a consent campaign and a national consent hub with NUI Galway. From that, a wider national campaign on consent will follow. That will happen before the agency is in place but anything subsequent in terms of campaigns will be delivered through the agency.

The agency will also be responsible for gathering information. That is something I think we are missing when it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, having enough information to be able to develop our policy. Much of it comes from the sector, which is amazing, but it is important that we have very clear and defined information and that we are collecting it on a regular basis. The agency will be tasked with that.

The commissioner is not something we have on our agenda in terms of actions. What I have tried through Supporting A Victim's Journey is to identify and map the journey a typical person may go on as they go through the criminal justice system. We have been working with the sector, those who are on the front line and who engage with victims, and we have been speaking directly to victims, to identify gaps in the system and where we need to expand our support or provide additional funding.

Separate to that, we established a national victims' forum, which met for the first time approximately two months ago. It is not specific to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence but a vast majority of the organisations that are engaged with the forum deal with this issue. The intention is that there will be an opportunity for different committees and working groups on topics that people want to work on to make sure victims' voices are heard and that information feeds in. It is something I am very open to exploring or looking at further if it is felt that a specific commissioner or a particular role within the agency is needed. I am willing to look at that further to see if there is something more we need to do there. The whole point of this is that the victim is at the very centre so their voice has to be heard at every stage.

On coercive control, and in any new laws that we pass, it is so important that the Garda, the legal professions, judges, and anybody else including those in the health sector are aware of this, know the laws, are up to speed and can pass that information on to their client or to victims and survivors. A number of strands of work are happening in that regard under Supporting a Victim's Journey. Education was a key priority for Tom O'Malley in his original report and subsequently in Supporting a Victim's Journey. We have had training start with the Judiciary. We have had court settings where there was specific training around domestic and sexual violence. The intention as more judges are trained is that they would be able to train and engage with colleagues further so that we have a larger number of people who are specifically trained within the judicial system. Similarly when it comes to our solicitors and barristers we have been engaged with the Law Society and Bar Council for almost two years now on this, identifying the education they are providing through their own structures and how we can improve it. We are also doing a mapping exercise, similar to Supporting a Victim's Journey, to see where education is being provided across the various areas and how we can fill any gaps and where there needs to be improvement.

When it comes to An Garda Síochána, I appreciate that for the past couple of years it has been difficult to provide the in-person training, which is absolutely vital in respect of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The Commissioner has given a commitment that in-person training will start again this year specifically for those in the divisional protective services units, DPSUs. We would like to see in-person training expanded as part of the general training, in which it is included at the moment, and that it would happen on a regular basis to make sure that when we have new laws, such as those on coercive control, Coco's law or the forthcoming provisions on stalking and non-fatal strangulation, people are aware of them and victims benefit from that understanding.

Family and civil justice is something I am very conscious of. One of the first people I spoke to coming in to the Department, a victim, explained that it was a massively difficult issue for her. There are two elements to this. The family justice oversight group has been looking at the family justice structures within the legal system. It will be publishing an overall strategy for family law accompanied by the family courts Bill, which is going to develop family court hubs. There will be a particular focus in that strategy, as well as the domestic violence strategy, on how we can bridge that gap where there are civil and criminal proceedings happening at the same time, and how we can make sure that people are not re-traumatised and that there is sharing and crossover of information where possible. It will be encompassed in two different strategies, which are being worked on at the moment.

The medical records issue is very much part of Supporting a Victim's Journey. We have been working with the Department of Health. One of the key elements is making sure that victims know they can object to their records being presented in court. That is often not known. A body of work is being done to look at how it currently happens and what better mechanisms we can put in place to protect victims. There is work ongoing on that and there will be further detail in the strategy.

There is no plan within my own Department to have a specific agency.

The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has appeared before the committee and he said the same. He gave a commitment to write back to the committee. While responsibility for gender equality used to be with the Department of Justice, it has now moved to his Department and he would be best placed to develop such an agency if that were to happen. Of course, it would have my full and absolute support and that of my Department if that route were be taken.