Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As people know, there is going to be a new strategy for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It will be launched in April by the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. As part of the strategy, a survey has been launched which will be open for three weeks. It is a very straightforward survey to get the feedback of people and their suggestions on what they believe should be in the strategy. The strategy will have four pillars: protection; prevention; prosecution; and policy co-ordination.

We need to eliminate the scourge of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in this country. We must adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any sexual violence. The survey is straightforward. Staff in my office filled it out this morning. I encourage all Members of the House, both female and male, to promote this, and to encourage citizens in this country to make their views known. It is a straightforward, easy survey. It can be found on the Department's website, and it will feed in to what is going to be the most important strategy in this area of sexual violence that we have had in the history of this country.

It is critically important that the survey has the type of response that it needs in order to get as many views as possible from as large a section of the population as possible. I encourage everyone to please take some time to fill out the survey and make their views known because they will influence the final strategy which will be published in April.