Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Acting Chairman for facilitating this Topical Issue debate and the Minister for Justice and Equality for coming before the House. I ask her to discuss the apparent failure by the Garda and HSE properly to investigate the appalling abuse of an individual, Anna Bubula.

The circumstances surrounding the case were covered comprehensively in yesterday's Irish Examiner, as the Minister may have read, in a report by Michael Clifford. The photographs alone are horrific and not for the faint-hearted, and reveal an appalling abuse and assault. The article itemises a series of apparent failures by the authorities in the case. There was an apparent failure by medical staff to report an allegation of rape to the gardaí. It was alleged that gardaí did not follow up on the case despite having attended at the scene when an ambulance was called. There was no record of an arrest of the suspect at the scene. No interpreter was present when the victim gave a statement to the gardaí. There was no effort to collect evidence about the alleged crime. No request for medical records was made for ten months after the assault, and only then at the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The assailant pleaded guilty to assault causing harm three years later and the issue of sexual assault was not adequately dealt with. The woman concerned was never examined in regard to sexual assault, which seems extraordinary because the notes on record at the time point to the fact she said she had been raped. The Garda Inspectorate report last year identified the fact that many rape or sexual assault cases were re-categorised as domestic violence or non-sexual assault cases, which is a worry.

The background to the case involved a Polish woman who had clear issues with articulating herself in the English language. It seems extraordinary that no interpreter was brought to bear on this case to facilitate the woman in communicating to the authorities the details of the appalling and dreadful attack. I recall, as Minister for Health, establishing ten years ago the first sexual assault unit in the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital in Cork, and many more followed. The whole idea was that protocols would be established so that proper, professional, comprehensive examination and assessment of women or men who had been sexually assaulted would take place. For that not to have happened in this case is extremely worrying. I have come across one or two other case where it has not happened.

If the Rape Crisis Centre in Galway had not become involved, an interpreter would never have been made available to the woman concerned. It was during the court proceedings three years later, when she sought help from it, that one was made available to her.

There must be procedures and protocols to be followed by health services and the gardaí in cases where assertions and allegations of sexual and physical assault have been made. What steps are taken to ensure those protocols and procedures are fulfilled by the gardaí and other authorities? I ask the Minister to outline the nature of the investigation the Garda has now, I understand, initiated into how the case was dealt with.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Martin for raising this matter. I share his concern about the shocking allegations of sexual assault in 2006 and that what has been reported in the media is properly addressed. I can only agree with what he said about the report and the photographs. Like him, I have a profound abhorrence for sexual and domestic violence in all its manifestations and I have worked in many fora over the years to tackle this type of crime.

The reports on this case are very serious and I am sure all in the House will agree they merit the most thorough investigation. Apart from the very brutal nature of the reported assault in this case, there are disturbing allegations, as the Deputy said and as reported yesterday, about a lack of response from State agencies, including An Garda Síochána and the health services. It is important that these matters are dealt with sensitively and are fully addressed, and I want to assure the House this will be done.

I can advise the House that the person in question wrote to me in late November. In view of the very serious nature of what she said in her letter to me, I asked for a full report on the matter from the Garda Commissioner and informed the person in question that I would be in contact with her again when I received it.

The Commissioner has now reported to me that she has asked the regional assistant commissioner to compile a report on the matter and has appointed an inspector to address the issues involved in this case. That obviously involves meeting the victim and I want to inform the Deputy that the first such meeting took place earlier this month. There is direct contact with the person in question, which is continuing with a view to obtaining full information on the case, and there will be a further meeting very shortly.

I can inform the House that the person in question also raised a second issue in her correspondence which is not in the public domain and on which it would not be appropriate to comment publicly. However, in light of this matter the Commissioner has now referred that aspect of the correspondence to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in respect of that specific issue. For the sake of completeness, as Deputy Martin alluded to, there have been court proceedings relating to an assault on the person concerned. I would like to await the full report so we can set out and establish all of the facts.

When I receive a final report from the Garda Commissioner, I will consider what further action may be necessary. I have powers to refer matters to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, but I would like to get the full report before I decide what further action is necessary.

There are potentially criminal aspects involved and I do not want to do anything that might impede or have an impact on a criminal investigation. I will also contact the person directly once I have the full report. The person can make a report to GSOC as well, despite the time issues, as an issue related to An Garda Síochána can be investigated if it is in the public interest. However, the person may not feel able to do that, and I just mention it as a possible route.

I take the Deputy's point that the Garda Inspectorate raised a number of very serious issues relating to the treatment of victims of domestic and sexual violence. There was a series of recommendations, and we know that inter-agency support will be absolutely essential. There are currently a number of protocols in place, and the Garda Inspectorate was critical of the way in which victims of sexual and domestic violence were still dealt with. The protocols have been increasingly used, and it is clear that there has been progress within services generally, with inter-agency collaboration and local units dealing with victims of sexual abuse. It is essential that all agencies work together, and I will take up the points raised by the Deputy regarding the health service with my colleague the Minister for Health. It is obvious that the real needs of the victim were lost in this case, as she did not get some of the basic services of assessment and treatment, including the services of an interpreter. The question of how victims are dealt with is central to my work, including at a European level, given the need for us to implement the EU victims directive this year. I will await the full report and then decide what action to take.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her reply. Will she indicate what are the circumstances in which interpreters should be brought in? It seems to be a basic service for somebody from another country with very poor English. An interpreter should be a basic provision for somebody like this who is reporting a crime. We must thank the landlord and the friends of this person, who were in a different town, as without them we would never have known about this. It is frightening. Thanks be to God there were good people out there who would not let this rest and sought accountability. Apparently, 80% of survivors of sexual abuse do not report their cases to the Garda, and this kind of experience would frighten people away from such reporting. We need more people to report these issues so we can achieve satisfactory outcomes and reduce the number of sexual assaults.

There was almost an instinctive sense that this was a domestic violence issue, when it never was. Apparently, that was one of the initial flaws in the response of authorities to this case. I note the Minister's comments about GSOC being asked to examine a specific issue, and perhaps it could consider the entire case. A victim goes through trauma with a sexual assault and it is adequate reason for timelines not to be a factor when something is reported to GSOC. We have already waived the statute of limitations with regard to abuse in industrial schools and other institutions. On the basis that trauma induced by sexual assault is of such an enormous nature, allowances must be made for the capability of a person to report issues adequately and properly at the time they occur.

I would appreciate it if the Minister could keep an eye on this and ensure that the issue is comprehensively and properly followed through so that the victim can get justice and others may never have to go through what she did. One only needs to look at the photographs her friends took, which show the horrific consequences of this. Although I hate to repeat it, the landlord said he never saw a boxer come out of a ring with such damage to face and body. It was a vicious assault. We must improve our work in this area. We must ensure this never happens again.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy again for raising this most important matter. The timeframe provisions can be waived by GSOC where it is a matter of particular public interest, and I can also refer a case to GSOC. I will bear that in mind when I get the full report. The Deputy has described the injuries and, unfortunately, victims of domestic and sexual violence suffer horrific injuries. That is the reason these crimes must be taken very seriously. That has been highlighted. Many of us in the House may have thought that the broader issue of the response to victims of sexual and domestic violence had improved greatly over the past ten years, but the Garda Inspectorate report highlights the need to keep this as a high priority, with an appropriate response from An Garda Síochána. I have discussed the issue with the Garda Commissioner and she has assured me that it will be a top priority for An Garda Síochána in the course of the coming year and into the future. With that in mind, we have a new process, with the establishment of victim liaison officers in every Garda division to improve the response to victims, which is an important initiative.

The Deputy asked about interpreters. There are very clear protocols in the courts, for example, when a person requires the services of an interpreter. This is also true of occasions when gardaí must question somebody and an interpreter is needed. I can arrange to get a note for the Deputy on precisely how interpreter services are dealt with in the health services and I will include details of how interpretation is provided when the police are dealing with people for whom English is not their first language.