Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if provision has been made in Budget 2019 for a second SAVI report; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42664/18]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister will recall that back in 2002, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre sponsored a national study of sexual abuse and violence in Ireland. It was a survey of some 3,000 men and women. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre was able to sponsor that report because of funding from central Government at the time. The work was carried out by the Department of Psychology in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Will the Minister give a commitment that there will be further funding for another survey and what is the current position in respect of a second SAVI report?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The answer is "yes". Both I and the Government are committed to preventing and addressing sexual violence in Ireland. It is extremely important to me but, more important, to victims of this violence that policy must be effective, driven by accurate, up to date, reliable data. Knowledge and information are essential to making effective policies to prevent and combat sexual violence.

The Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland, SAVI, report was formative research in this area and its results had a significant impact on policy at the time of its publication in 2002 and since.

The Government decided to examine what data is available for the development of policy in this particularly sensitive area and to assess if there were gaps in the data available for policy formulation. This work was undertaken by a scoping group which considered the availability of data and made recommendations on the format of a study to identify the prevalence of sexual abuse and violence in Ireland today and emerging trends. The group completed a draft report and submitted it to my office for consideration in April.

A further piece of technical legal work is now being completed so that proposals can be brought to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

As the Deputy will appreciate I am constrained from commenting further as proposals have yet to be brought to Government, but I can assure the Deputy that moneys for the undertaking of work have been made available next year. Once the report has been considered by Government, I intend to make an announcement to outline the way forward on this issue and details of the available budget will also be provided.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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It is important to note that it is now 16 years since the SAVI report was published. It provided very useful information on the incidence of sexual violence in Ireland at the time. Its findings were very significant and serious. It found that more than four in ten women reported some form of sexual abuse or assault in their lifetime, and that over a quarter of men reported some form of sexual abuse or assault in their lifetime. The 2002 report had a significant impact in how Government and this House formulated policy in respect of sexual abuse and violence.

I welcome that the Minister has indicated that moneys will be made available for the purpose of compiling and concluding a second SAVI report. However, I should point out that the scoping group that was established under the chairmanship of Professor Dorothy Watson did in fact make a report to the Minister back in April 2018. I note the Minister says that a report will be made to Cabinet in coming weeks but I ask that the matter be expedited as the Minister is correct in saying that we cannot formulate policy unless we have the necessary information to guide us.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I do not disagree with any of the Deputy's remarks. I wish to assure him of both my efforts and my action in this regard. Since the scoping group submitted its report to me in April a significant amount of work has been undertaken by officials in my Department on issues around the survey methodology, ethical considerations, the feasibility around periodic data collection over time, and data protection issues. Several issues have been resolved and a small number of technical issues are still to be progressed, including legal issues that require consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. Once these are resolved, which I expect will happen very shortly, I will bring proposals to Cabinet. I will be happy to make a further statement to the House then.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister's answer. It is important that the public is aware that there is a reason we want further research on sexual abuse and violence. Something is happening in the statistics. In the first six months of this year, there has been a 10% increase in reported sexual offences. In 2014, there were 1,268 instances of sexual assault, and in 2017 it had increased to 2,885. It may be that this is the result of increased confidence on the part of complainants who are now prepared to come forward and report sexual offences. Alternatively, it could be more worrying in that the rate of sexual assaults and other offences has increased. We do not know. This Minister or any future Ministers cannot be guided in what policies they introduce unless they know the reason for this statistical rise. That is why this issue is so important.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Again, I must agree. It is important for the formulation of any policy issues or legislation that evidence is available in the form of the type of data furnished in the 2002 SAVI report. I am keen to ensure that we proceed to formally set the process for a SAVI 2 under way. In that, I acknowledge the work of many stakeholders to date and look forward to continuing a positive engagement with the many advocacy groups involved. I mention the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, the Irish Observatory on Violence Against Women, One in Four and Women's Aid.

I assure the Deputy and the House that I will keep in close contact with all of these groups as I very much value their advice and guidance. I confirm that in the next few weeks I will be bringing proposals to the Cabinet, after which I will make a public statement. Matters can then proceed during the course of next year.