Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Government has failed to honour commitments made to provide funding for dedicated medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault. It has emerged this week from a report carried out on behalf of the Government — the Minister for State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Fahey, may have been involved in its production — that despite the fact that 95% of rape cases do not end in a conviction, three of the four sexual assault treatment units in the country are at risk of closure due to lack of State funding. I believe that a sum of only €7 million is in question, which was promised before the budget.

The availability of dedicated medical services pertaining to rape and sexual assault is fundamental to successfully prosecuting the perpetrators. Repeatedly, cases do not proceed to court because of the lack of services to compile forensic evidence in the appropriate way. Figures from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the provisional crime statistics for 2005 compared to 2004 show some shocking increases in sexual assault offences. For example, rape section 4 offences have increased by 33%, while rape of a female has increased by 8%. The figures for unlawful carnal knowledge have risen by 8% and those for sexual assault by 7%. Hence, this is a major problem. Obviously this does not only affect women, it also affects children of both sexes and indeed younger men in particular. Nevertheless, the vast majority of victims are women.

At present there are four sexual assault treatment units in Ireland. Only the unit in the South Infirmary Hospital, Cork receives funding from the Department of Health and Children. According to the report, the other three are now at crisis point and on the brink of closure due to staffing difficulties caused by a lack of funding. The unit in the Rotunda hospital conducts 300 forensic examinations a year, with one third of its victims coming from outside the Dublin area. It depends on a core group of just three doctors, a half-time nurse manager and shared nursing staff from the gynaecological unit. The unit is now at crisis point due to staff shortages.

While the unit in Waterford Regional Hospital is the newest facility, its funding is limited to one year, which threatens the sustainability of the service and makes it difficult to retain doctors. Due to staff shortages, the unit can only offer services to victims of sexual assault who are willing to report a crime. The unit in Letterkenny General Hospital has been obliged to limit its catchment area to Donegal due to staffing issues. The report notes that it is struggling to remain open with only two doctors providing forensic medical examination services on an ad hoc basis and concludes that cessation of this much-needed service seems inevitable, unless immediate steps are taken to address this crisis.

The report highlights the difficulties experienced by victims of sexual assault who do not live close to an existing sexual assault treatment unit. The Minister of State's county of Galway, together with the entire midlands, lacks a sexual assault treatment unit. The reporting of rapes or sexual assaults is lower in those areas which lack a treatment unit. This appears to be linked to the fact that victims in these areas must either turn to a GP who is willing to perform the forensic examination or make a four to six hour car journey for a forensic examination to report the crime. In some areas, there are no GPs with the requisite training to carry out forensic examinations.

The report was also highly critical of existing facilities in Garda stations for victims making statements and recommended that the HSE should provide a dedicated interview room in each region. The Tánaiste and the Minister of State must respond to the shocking findings of this report. The Government must intervene to ensure that the existing sexual assault treatment units receive the funding they require to offer a full service to victims of rape and sexual assault. Moreover, new funding must be allocated to provide appropriate services in Galway and the midlands. Serious sexual assault devastates the life of the victims and very often the lives of their families. Victims go to hell and back again and if the forensic examinations are not performed properly, it is almost impossible for the Garda to help secure a conviction. This means that effectively, a sense of impunity arises, particularly when drink is involved in aggravating a sexual assault. I plead with the Minister of State to do something for the victims of these heinous crimes.

Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome this opportunity to update the House on matters relating to the difficult issue of violence against women and in particular in respect of the care for and treatment of the victims of sexual assault. Violence against women originally emerged as a major public issue in the consultation process in the Department of Health's policy document on women's health in 1996. This led to the publication of the task force report on violence against women in 1997, which contained recommendations to address the needs of women who had been raped or sexually assaulted.

In light of the complexity of the issue and the number of different agencies involved, the Government established the national steering committee on violence against women, NSC, in 1997 to facilitate a multidisciplinary and co-ordinated response from the State and the voluntary sector.

Last year, on behalf of the national steering committee, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform commissioned the development of a new strategic plan for the committee to take account of developments since it was established and the progress that has been made in implementing the recommendations of the original task force. This project has involved extensive consultation with interested parties as well as an evaluation of the working methods and structures of the NSC, with a view to further enhancing their effectiveness and laying down a work plan for the future. The strategic plan should be completed later this year.

The provision of appropriate services for victims of sexual assault is a matter of particular concern. I accept the point made by Deputy Burton in this respect. In order to evaluate the current situation in the State and to look at good practice in other jurisdictions with a view to enhancing Irish service provision, if necessary, the national steering committee established the sub-group, chaired by the Department of Health and Children, referred to by Deputy Burton which was tasked to review the medical and forensic services available to victims of sexual assault.

The aim of this review was to examine the provision of sexual assault treatment services in Ireland and in doing so, to identify the most appropriate service for adult and teenage — both male and female — victims of sexual crime that would adopt a holistic approach to care, and in so doing so incorporate all the relevant aspects such as health, justice and psychological needs. The Deputy may already be aware that there are currently four sexual assault treatment units in Ireland, located in the east, south-east, south and north-west regions.

The report of this group was completed late last year and its publication is imminent. Its recommendations are already under consideration in the Departments of Health and Children and Justice, Equality and Law Reform and will be further considered in the context of the overall review of the ongoing response to violence against women. The Department of Health and Children is arranging to print the report and I assume that it will then be placed in the public domain.

However, I will not break any confidences by outlining that the recommendations examine, inter alia, the need for a more uniformly available service across the country, for enhanced training for those working in this field and at better networking and information sharing. I am determined that improved coordination arrangements will flow from this large body of strategic work being undertaken under my stewardship as chair of the national steering committee, and, in particular, that this will lead to the enhancement of services for victims of violence against women and to an increase in the availability and quality of service in sexual assault treatment units.

I accept there are serious gaps in the service and that is why the interdepartmental committee was established. It will report shortly and I am determined to ensure finance will be available to locate treatment centres throughout the State and, in particular, in the west.