Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to follow on from what Senator Bacik said about the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre's annual report, which was launched today. While I support the call for a debate on victims' rights, I would like to go further by asking for a debate on the services that are available to victims of sexual assault. Such a debate is necessary in light not only of the report that has been published today, but also last week's revelation by Rape Crisis Network Ireland that following a cut in its core funding, it is concerned that it will not be able to maintain or continue its services. We do not want to see survivors of abuse abandoned, particularly in light of some of the figures presented by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre today. Senator Bacik mentioned the 14% increase in calls reporting adult rape. I would also like to mention that there was a 30% increase in first-time callers to the national rape helpline last year, that 55% of genuine calls were first-time contacts and that more than 4,000 repeat contacts were received. Some 104 of the 293 cases in which the reporting status was known were reported to the Garda. We will all agree that these figures highlight the important need for these services, which are invaluable for the victims of sexual assault and rape, to be in place. The need for these services is obvious. At a time when the statistics are so stark and paint such a shocking and harrowing picture of the reality of sexual assault in Ireland, it is clear that we need to invest more funding and resources in rape crisis services than we do at present. We need to move to allay the fears of these services that they are going to be cut further, or that they may have to discontinue. As has been mentioned, we also need to ensure legislation to protect victims is strengthened. We cannot allow core funding for these services to be removed as that would be a major backward step in services for people who have experienced sexual violence. I am calling for a debate on that.

I would also like to support Senator Darragh O'Brien's call for defibrillators to be provided. When I raised this issue previously, I asked about the status of Senator Quinn's Bill. One of my colleagues on Cavan County Council recently got a motion passed that called for the provision of defibrillators in public areas.