Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I recently met Mary Crilly from the Cork Rape Crisis Centre and I have had long engagement with her through her extraordinary work over the years on behalf of rape victims. When I was Minister for Health and Children, we were involved in setting up the first forensic sexual violence centre in the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital in Cork.

Mary Crilly is a tireless worker. I met Mary Crilly, Caitriona Twomey and Lavinia Kerwick at Cork Penny Dinners recently to discuss the phenomenon of the rape of homeless women and men. It was quite a shocking story that they had to tell. They have come forward with an idea around developing a pilot project to help the homeless and to protect the homeless from sexual violence and rape. I said I felt that was a very good idea and that I would pursue it with them and with the homeless authorities, and that the local authority and the HSE would have to be involved. I said we would take a co-ordinated approach to dealing with this issue and then see if a model could be developed that could then be rolled out across the country. Given the evidence they brought forward to us, it is an issue that merits that consideration, although it will take a bit of time to get that up and running and to get it right.

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