Mr. Greg Heylin:

The three actions assigned to the Department of Justice and Equality under Ireland's national action plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 are first, to promote awareness of and reasonable access to services for migrants, which can assist them with their recovery from domestic, sexual or gender-based violence, subject to resources, second, to facilitate established non-governmental organisations in their efforts to document the experiences of women and girls who have been affected by conflict in their countries of origin to better inform public service provisions and interaction with these women and girls and third, to introduce a single application procedure for protection applicants, whereby all elements of their application to be permitted to remain in Ireland will be fully considered in one single process with the possibility to appeal the protection-related aspects of their application to a new independent tribunal. I will address each of these actions in turn.
As for promoting awareness, the Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, in the Department of Justice and Equality has recently agreed a RIA policy and practice document on safeguarding RIA residents against domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and harassment. This policy was agreed between RIA, Cosc, AkiDwA, Ruhama, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, the Irish Refugee Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and is available to download from the RIA website. A training programme for staff and an awareness-raising campaign for residents will follow shortly. The policy will be officially implemented once the required training takes place. In advance of this, information posters already have been distributed to all RIA centres. These posters, which are available in five languages including English, provide information on accessing professional help if residents have suffered or are suffering from domestic, sexual or gender-based violence or harassment. All potential victims of human trafficking who are notified to An Garda Síochána are informed of the services and supports available to them, including the services of the Reception and Integration Agency, the Health Service Executive and the Legal Aid Board. These bodies also are informed of the person’s details. Each individual can then decide of which services to avail, depending on his or her individual circumstances.
Documenting experiences is the second measure we are required to action and in 2012, Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, funded AkiDwA to produce an awareness-raising booklet entitled We Lived to Tell. This booklet aimed to raise awareness of domestic violence and to challenge the culture of minimisation and denial of domestic violence among migrant communities. It also aimed to empower and support survivors and those who experience domestic violence. The booklet can be used as a resource tool for service providers, the public and educational institutions and was launched by me on 30 November 2012 at the invitation of AkiDwA. One of the stories details how a woman had to flee the country where she was living when war broke out and there were accounts circulating of women being raped. When she went with her boyfriend to live in his country, she was subjected to domestic violence. I believe Ms Salome Mbugua will talk about this project in more detail.
As part of the review of the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings on Ireland 2009-2012, a pilot user satisfaction survey regarding the State’s anti-human trafficking services was conducted with a sample of alleged victims of trafficking. On the basis of the pilot study, it was found that obtaining the views of victims on their satisfaction levels was an achievable goal. However, the means by which information is collected requires further consideration if this approach is to be used generally in the future. The Rape Crisis Network Ireland produces detailed annual statistics on users of all rape crisis services in Ireland. Six graphs and tables refer directly to refugees or asylum seekers, outlining the gender of the victim and the type of violence experienced. Safe Ireland, the national body for domestic violence organisations, produces a single-day census of users of 37 front-line services. This census gives a breakdown of the nationality and ethnic origins of the women using the services.
I will now turn to the final item, that is, the single application process. The introduction of a single procedure for protection applicants will result in a re-organisation of the protection processing framework that will see the removal of the current sequential processes. This will allow a protection applicant to get a final decision on his or her application in a more straightforward and timely fashion and should reduce greatly the time taken to process a case to finality. In reply to Parliamentary Question No. 170 of Thursday, 12 June, concerning immigration reform and the publication of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, the Minister stated as follows:

I wish to assure the Deputy that the Government remains committed to immigration reform as provided for under the Programme for Government and under the Government Legislation Programme. Since my appointment as Minister for Justice and Equality, I have been considering the many and varied issues that have arisen, and continue to arise, in relation to this key area of statutory reform. Quite clearly significant legislative reform is required in this area - not least because of evolving jurisprudence and developments elsewhere. Moreover, some of the reform measures required are patently more urgent than others. For example, legislating to provide the means for a single procedure and related issues to deal with all protection claims is of priority in that it will provide the legislative framework for removing the structural delays which are a feature of our existing protection system. I am particularly anxious, therefore, to ensure that legislation to deal at least with the more urgent issues is brought forward this year. In that respect work by my officials on legislative reform in this area continues including in conjunction with the Offices of the Attorney General and of the Parliamentary Counsel.