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

Sexual exploitation of children is one of the most grotesque and serious crimes that exist. It is a crime which causes misery in the lives of children and families. We all must do everything in our power to stamp it out. This is a growing problem, with abusers continuing to abuse positions of power and making greater use of technology and online spaces to hide and commit their crimes.

There were more than 40,000 reports in 2023 relating to online abuse. That is the highest number in history, with 29,000 reports containing illegal material, primarily child sexual abuse material. These are not statistics, these are children. All Members of this House, as public representatives, legislators, leaders in our communities and leaders of political parties have a responsibility to do everything in our power to protect children and to ensure that those who are responsible for this vile abuse are held accountable. This Government is putting children first. I put child protection and the voice of children at the very centre of our zero tolerance plan. We will always support victims. The national roll-out of the divisional protective service units, which are specialist Garda units where trained officers ensure that victims get professional and expert assistance, has been a game changer in providing consistent, dedicated and professional service to victims of sexual crime, including children.

The Minister for children has pioneered the roll-out of Barnahus. This is again about providing all of the essential services and supports to children who are victims of child sexual abuse and their families all under one roof. The establishment of a stand-alone Department of children in 2011, which was first led by then-Minister for children Frances Fitzgerald, has enabled us to put child welfare and child protection right around the Cabinet table. We are putting further, better structures in place to help identify victims in the community. Of course, we must target perpetrators and bring those who abuse children to justice. There can be no hiding place online or offline for anyone who commits these crimes. We have ramped up investment in An Garda Síochána. This has helped the cyber crime bureau and the national protective services bureau, all of which consistently work to support victims, identify, investigate and prosecute perpetrators. In the very near future, gardaí will have more assistance in facial recognition technology and other technology to identify victims and bring perpetrators to account.

We also want to support victims in Irish courts. A new family court is being established to ensure children are at the centre of our family justice system. Funding is in place to start a child advocate group and a project, which I supported, to assist children in having their voices heard in family law proceedings. All of these actions and much more are putting children at the very centre of the issues that impact them. We must ensure that any person who commits these crimes is punished appropriately. To that effect, I have already committed to carrying out a review of the existing sentences for child sexual abuse and child abuse material. We have to ensure that the sentences of those who are responsible match the serious nature of the crimes committed. These are the actions this Government is taking to protect children.

Recent revelations in relation to the handling by Sinn Féin of a very serious case of child sexual abuse is a source of great public concern. There remain a number of unanswered questions. I call on the leader of Sinn Féin, Deputy McDonald, to provide answers to this House and to the people of Ireland.

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