Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the return of Ibrahim Halawa to Dublin this morning. I thank all Members, including the Ceann Comhairle, who helped make that happen, along with the many others who made Mr. Halawa feel very welcome on his return. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has spent more time on this case than any other in consular history. Many Members have been involved in a campaign to highlight the injustice in this case. I am glad that, despite four very difficult years, there has been a happy ending for the Halawa family. I hope to meet Mr. Halawa later today.

On the comments made by the Taoiseach last week in respect of sexual assault and violence in Ireland, my understanding is that he has an open mind on this issue, as does the Government. He merely pointed out that if €1 million is to be spent in that area, regard must be had to the most acute current priorities. That question needs to be asked by the Government if it is to allocate fresh resources that were not provided in the budget. That is not to say that the Government will not do this if it is the right thing to do. There is no disputing that the SAVI report was ground-breaking when it was published in 2002. However, much has happened since then, including the formulation of the first and second national strategies on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. There are additional sources of more recent data in respect of sexual violence. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights' study on violence against women in 2014 provided comparative prevalence data across the 28 member states and a Eurobarometer study provided comparative data for 2016 for each member state. The European Union statistics body, EUROSTAT, is gearing up to survey gender-based violence and victimisation. It is anticipated that the Central Statistics Office, CSO, will take part in any EU-wide victimisation survey. Existing Garda data on sexual crimes published by the CSO have also been strengthened, thus ensuring we have more robust current data. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Stanton, met the director of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Noeline Blackwell, this afternoon. The Government will consider the issue and if it is right to prioritise spending on research, that will be done. However, that decision has not yet been made and, therefore, I cannot announce it today.

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