Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have been reading news reports in the past few hours about the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, reneging on the commitment he inherited from the Tánaiste when she held his position in respect of funding a successor to the Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland study. This made me angry but also extremely sad. We have only begun to scratch the surface in respect of understanding the experience of those who have been victims of sexual violence. We need to know the reality of these experiences in order that we can properly respond and invest in front-line structures. It is appalling and disgusting that the Minister would take a step backwards with regard to such an important study. In the context of our national budget, it is a drop in the ocean. It would have cost €1 million to fund, which is only one fifth of the budget provided for the strategic communications unit. We really start to see where people's priorities are when they pull money for such important studies in the area of sexual violence. I call on the Leader to ask the Minister to address the Seanad in order that he might justify this decision and state whether he will consider honouring the commitment made by his predecessor by making the relevant funding available in the forthcoming finance Bill.