Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I am gutted that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is not present to provide a reply in respect of the diabolical issue I wish to raise. I watched "Tonight with Vincent Browne" last night and must state I did not sleep afterwards. Mr. Browne and his guests discussed the SAVI report on sexual abuse and violence in Ireland which was published ten years ago and the work relating to which was funded by the then Department of Health and Children. The information contained in the report is horrific to say the least. What is really striking is that no one questioned whether the methodology used in the report's preparation was accurate. It is, therefore, accepted that the report which contains information which is, frankly, phenomenal is accurate.

The report indicates that one in five women, or 20.4%, reported experiencing contact sexual abuse in childhood, while a further 7.6% of all women stated they had experienced attempted or actual penetrative sex in childhood, that is, rape or attempted rape. Thus, almost one quarter of all women were sexually abused in childhood and one in 13 were subjected to rape or attempted rape in childhood. The report also shows that one in six men, or 16.2%, reported experiencing contact sexual abuse in childhood, of whom approximately one quarter reported experiencing attempted or actual penetrative sex in childhood. Overall, almost one third of women and one quarter of men reported some level of sexual abuse in childhood, that is, contact and non-contact sexual abuse. Such non-contact sexual abuse includes being exposed to pornography or actual sexual scenes.

The report further illustrates that most sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence occurs when individuals are prepubescent, with 67% of abused girls and 62% of abused boys having experienced abuse by 12 years of age. Some 36% of those who experienced sexual abuse as children now believe their abusers were also abusing other children at the time. Some 25% of those who perpetrated sexual abuse against girls were family members, 50% were non-family members who were known to those abused and another 24% were strangers. One in seven, or 14%, of those who perpetrated sexual abuse against boys was a family member, two thirds were non-family members who were known to the abused boys and one in five, or 20%, was a stranger.

We are referring to 12% of the population. One does not need to be a mathematical genius that we are potentially referring to over 500,000 people. I use the word "potentially" because we do not have accurate, up-to-date figures. The SAVI report is ten years old. It was stated on Vincent Browne's show last night that it would cost €1 million to carry out a new study. The actual cost would be €500,000 when the Government had collected whatever taxes would be due.

Something must be done about this matter. We are holding a referendum on children's rights and I will be voting in favour of the proposed constitutional amendment. I am delighted that the Government is facilitating the referendum. What is the point in holding a referendum to ensure the rights of children will be protected, while ignoring the fact that, as the most recent information available indicates, over 500,000 people were sexually abused as children? If that number have been sexually abused, one must ask how many abusers there are in the country. We need to tackle this matter. There is a need for a new report and I hope the Minister of State is in a position to provide good news in that regard.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and providing me with the opportunity to outline, on behalf of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the policy and services in place to deal with sexual abuse. As the Deputy stated, sexual violence has a devastating effect on victims and their families and is a serious health and human rights issue.

In March 2010 the Government launched a four year strategy to provide a framework for sustainable intervention to prevent and effectively respond to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, was established in 2007, under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality, to ensure the delivery of the Government's strategy in dealing with such violence. The HSE launched its policy on violence of this nature in 2010. The principal actions of this policy are in line with the Government's strategy. Recently, the national director for children and family services who has lead responsibility in this area has established a national office for domestic and sexual violence within the HSE.

The HSE funds 16 rape crisis centres, 20 crisis refuges and 17 support services, including two national representative bodies, namely, Safe Ireland and Rape Crisis Network Ireland. The total cost in this regard in 2011 was €19.182 million. Some €4.5 million was specifically provided by the HSE to fund sexual violence services in 2011.

We need accurate and relevant statistics in order to ensure that the issue of sexual violence is properly reflected in health policy and subsequently addressed through the health services. The sexual abuse and violence in Ireland, SAVI, report published in 2002 was the first national study of the prevalence of childhood and adult sexual violence in a representative sample of the Irish population. Many of its results were shocking, with more than four in ten women reporting some form of sexual abuse or assault in their lifetime and more than one quarter of men reporting the same. This report was in the main funded by Atlantic Philanthropies with some additional funding from the former Departments of Health and Children and of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. In 2010 the Department of Health and Children was approached for funding to carry out a SAVI-2 study. The projected overall cost for a SAVI-2 study was just over €1 million, at €1,106,779, approximately half of which was being sought from the Department of Health and Children, amounting to €500,000 over the three years 2010 to 2012. At this juncture, officials in the Department pointed out that the allocation of funding had transferred to the HSE which was subject to significant budgetary constraints in 2011. As these constraints are ongoing, neither the Department of Health nor the HSE is currently in a position to support a SAVI-2 study. However, statistics are available from two national databases.

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland is the national representative body for 14 rape crisis centres. It operates a data collection system specifically designed to collect information from front-line services dedicated to working with survivors of sexual violence. These statistics have been published since 2004. Safe Ireland is the national representative body for 39 women's front-line domestic violence services. It has been compiling national statistics relating to the number of women and children accessing their members' services since 2008.

I wish to reassure the Deputy that while we are not in a position to fund this study, the Government is fully committed to addressing the problem of sexual violence and will draw on available up-to-date statistics on the subject in order to inform its policies and services.

Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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That is not a satisfactory answer nor will it deal with this issue. I come from a national school that was ravaged by sexual abuse. I come from a town that was ravaged by sexual abuse. I come from County Roscommon and we now have the name of the Roscommon case. We give the impression we really care but if we do not take this issue seriously it is nothing other than crocodile tears. When I lived in Galway the apartments I lived in were built on the old grounds of the laundries. I remember hearing about what was there beforehand. I got talking to some older people and they told me about how everyone knew this was going on. That has been said about much of the abuse that happened.

Now we know all of this sexual abuse is happening. We do not the extent of it because the Government will not fund an up-to-date study, even though the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has asked on several occasions for it to be done. We need to take this issue seriously. In order to take the issue seriously, no more than if one wants to take seriously the issue of speeding one needs a speedometer in the car to show the speed of the car. In the same way, if the Government wants to do something about this situation it will need the facts. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre would not be asking for another study to be funded if it thought the current studies were adequate.

The Minister of State's reply is not reassuring. It is very worrying that the Government is not willing to provide the funding. In my view it shows the Government is trying to bury its head in the sand. I will vote for the children's referendum but what use will it be? We will end up with children with rights who are hungry and if they are sexually abused we will not know about it. What sort of right is that?

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Flanagan for raising those points in his supplementary contribution. I acknowledge and appreciate the trauma he feels as a representative of County Roscommon. We all feel the same because any child abused anywhere, in any constituency, in any home, is one too many. I concur fully with him that action needs to be taken and I believe it is being taken.

The HSE published its policy on domestic violence in 2007. The principal actions are integrated into a national strategy which is being funded to a significant extent. The national director for children and family services has lead responsibility for the implementation of this policy and actions within the national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. In order to assist in this task, the national director has established a national office for domestic and sexual violence within the children and family service. The office is staffed by senior managers whose brief is to ensure that all HSE and HSE-funded services are operated within the integrated strategy. As I stated earlier, services to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, including 20 crisis refuges, 27 domestic violence support services and 16 rape crisis centres, are funded to the order of €20 million annually. I agree we need to spend more. The 20 refuges received €10.435 million in 2011. Every HSE region has at least one such centre providing crisis emergency accommodation. The majority of the centres are accessible on a 24-hour basis.

A national regional review of domestic violence is under way. The aim of this review is to ensure that funding is allocated according to needs. Areas of high demand are appropriately resourced. The review will highlight any inequities, gaps and duplication. This service review is ongoing and is being conducted by the HSE in each of the four regions at different stages of progression. It is hoped this review will be concluded in October this year.