Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady, for taking my Adjournment matter on the important issue of sexual assaults. The matter of child abuse has been central to recent discussions across the country and I recognise that the Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy, made an announcement yesterday. I tabled this Adjournment matter for yesterday, but it was only accepted today. I will be interested in the reply.

I wish to highlight the good work being done by the north-west sexual assault services group, an informal partnership of representatives of organisations, including both police services, from across the north west that are involved in planning or providing services for people following sexual assaults. In June 2009, it held a workshop to consider what a cross-Border model of services should look like. It wanted to show just how joined-up cross-Border working could deliver, particularly in the areas of psychological, clinical and forensic and legal PSNI-Garda services. It did this in the context of how the needs of the people of the north west could best be met and linked into the plans for the new regional centre in County Antrim.

The majority of rape and sexual assault cases are perpetrated by someone known to the victim. Almost one in five Irish women has admitted to having experienced domestic violence by a current or former intimate partner or spouse, a percentage of which is sexual violence. Often, the child as well as the adult can be the victim in these assaults. It is likely that we all know someone who has suffered and might feel that he or she cannot speak about the abuse.

It is recognised that sexual violence and abuse are among the most damaging crimes and they impact in a traumatic manner on the physical, mental and sexual health of the victims for many years afterwards. To minimise the long-term effects of abuse, we need an integrated approach to services across departmental lines as well as in a borderless manner in the north west. We need to support the provision of experienced staff who will be available in appropriate locations and the maximising of resources through a co-ordination of services.

Recently, a Garda station in Buncrana was informally opened. Like many of the newer Garda stations, such as that in Letterkenny, it has its own sexual assault unit as a core part of the physical infrastructure. It is vital that dedicated personnel be identified and given responsibility specifically for the remit of sexual assaults. They must build relationships with groups on the ground, of which there are many. By having consistency and a development of trust, there is the greatest opportunity to be able to share experience and drive the optimum response from all sectors involved.

There is the argument that many people do not report at all. As such, it might not be realistic statistically to have personnel exclusively dedicated to sexual assaults in small areas. When there is a case of a sexual assault, however, it is important that an identified officer would be on hand to offer a professional and experienced handling of the situation.

We must also explore ways to enable and facilitate people to speak out about what has happened to them. We are now hearing of victims of sexual assaults carried out decades ago. Their pain remains raw and their need for healing in a real and deep sense is as vital now as when the acts were perpetrated. For many of them, their lives could have been different if they had felt able to deal with their attackers and expose them much earlier. This is a key issue.

In discussing this matter, I hope to call for a focus on tackling the issue of sexual and domestic violence in Border areas. As a representative of a cross-Border area, I know that it is imperative that we tackle the issue of cross-Border sex attacks and assaults against women. The Border can be and historically has been played. An all-island sex offenders register must be a top priority. Too often, alas, I meet a girl who has had a relationship with someone from a few miles up the road, often from over the Border, and who only found out too late that he had been sexually assaulting a child in the house when he was visiting. The information exchange of who poses a danger to women or children is obviously vital. The Border is not a physical wall. In our area it is not a psychological wall, but the fact that there are two jurisdictions can provide a protective wall. By maximising co-operation we minimise the potential for abusers to act with impunity. It is imperative that we have a cross-Border network to allow the Garda and the PSNI to work together to ensure those who commit these attacks will be brought to justice and to close the loophole that allows offenders to move from one jurisdiction to another with the intention of evading prosecution. We must look at how offenders are getting away with committing these heinous crimes and establish a system that will see them punished. We need to support our newly qualified health workers who have specialised in this area.

In the Republic of Ireland the national women's strategy 2007-16 proposes actions to combat violence against women through improved services for victims, together with effective prevention measures and prosecution. In the North the Tackling Violence at Home strategy included a commitment for public sector and voluntary and community sector employers to implement policies within their organisations by 2007. The Domestic Violence Act 1996 is the governing legislation in the Republic of Ireland. In the North the issue of domestic violence is covered by the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004. We need to maximise the potential of these laws to bring to an end domestic violence and also to reduce the potential for cross-Border sexual assaults to occur, keeping the victim foremost in our minds and actions.

Sexual violence is a crime not only against women's or men's bodies, but also against their freedom, independence and autonomy. I commend those working to support survivors of abuse but ask what we, as a Government and society, can do to assist them more. I hope that following yesterday's announcement there will be a specific measure for the north west to give regional expression to the work being done.

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, I thank the Senator for raising the important issue of the development and co-ordination of cross-Border sexual assault services. The Government takes the problem of sexual violence very seriously. Heinous crimes are involved, with serious consequences for victims. Owing to their hidden nature and the frequent reluctance of victims to report them, they are crimes which can be difficult to tackle.

It is vitally important to provide effective services for victims of sexual assaults. The Department of Health and Children, through the Health Service Executive, is very much involved in the provision of such services. There are six sexual assault treatment units located around the country, all of which strive to provide a 24-hour service, seven days a week. The units are located at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital in Cork, Waterford Regional Hospital, the Midlands Hospital in Mullingar, as well as in Galway and Letterkenny. Alternative ring-fenced accommodation has been sourced for the units in Mullingar and Letterkenny to place them in a better position to provide care around the clock and to remove certain infrastructural constraints which have limited their ability to offer a 24-hour service seven days a week.

In its 2009 policy on domestic and sexual violence the HSE outlined actions to provide for the standardisation of sexual assault services. Important progress has been made in this regard. In early 2009 the first group of clinical nurse-midwife specialists completed the academic component of the Higher Diploma in Nursing by passing the sexual assault forensic nursing examination in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland. These specially trained nurses are now providing holistic care for the victims of sexual assault in the sexual assault treatment units. As well as undertaking a clinical and forensic examination of male and female victims whose cases will proceed through the criminal justice system, these nurses also provide care for persons who choose not to report an incident to the Garda Síochána.

The Government's commitment to tackling sexual violence was reflected in the establishment in June 2007 of Cosc, the national office for the prevention of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Cosc is a national executive office within the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform with a whole of government remit to co-ordinate the work of the many organisations involved in addressing sexual violence. The organisations include Departments and State agencies. The non-governmental organisations working in this area deserve special mention for their commitment to service provision for sexual violence victims for many years.

The recent publication of the national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence for the five-year period from 2010 to 2014 is a particularly important milestone. The national strategy sets out detailed actions to strengthen measures to assist victims of sexual violence, while at the same time strengthening measures to deal with the perpetrators of such violence.

In the context of work on the preparation of the national strategy, officials from Cosc met their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in June last year. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss matters of common concern, including opportunities for cross-Border working, the development of policy and awareness-raising, and the challenges still faced in tackling domestic and sexual violence. There has been informal and positive contact between the parties since the meeting and it is intended to continue this co-operation. One of the specific actions mentioned in the recently launched national strategy is exploring areas of work to identify those suitable for cross-Border co-operation in addressing domestic and sexual violence. This will strengthen the opportunities to engage in cross-Border work and improve collaboration to achieve one of the strategy's goals, namely, to deliver an effective and consistent service to those affected by domestic and sexual violence. The process of identifying areas of work suitable for cross-Border co-operation, including consulting interested parties, will be completed later this year. Specific projects will then be considered, in conjunction with our Northern Ireland counterparts. More broadly and in line with Government policy the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform continues to engage with the authorities in Northern Ireland with a view to providing integrated and seamless co-operation across a number of policy areas relating to sexual violence.

The Sex Offenders Act 2001 contains a comprehensive series of provisions aimed at protecting children and other persons from sexual violence perpetrators. The Act requires persons convicted of a range of sexual offences to notify the Garda Síochána of their address. These requirements also extend to any offenders convicted abroad, including in Northern Ireland, of the same range of sexual offences who enter the State. The Minister is reviewing the operation of the 2001 Act and expects to be in a position to seek Government approval later this year for a series of amendments to it.

In addition, the Garda Síochána and the Police Service for Northern Ireland maintain close contact and exchange intelligence on convicted sex offenders. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Irish and British Governments in 2006 on the sharing of information on sex offenders between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI, as well as other British police forces. The Garda Síochána and the PSNI subsequently signed an agreement on the sharing of personal data in relation to the investigation of sexual offences and the monitoring of sex offenders.

Moreover, the Probation Service works in close collaboration with the Probation Board for Northern Ireland to ensure effective communication is maintained regarding sex offenders who move between the two jurisdictions. Protocols to this effect have been in place since 2006 and are being reviewed.

In summary, the Government is committed to tackling the problem of sexual violence in meeting the needs of victims and dealing with perpetrators. This includes building cross-Border development and co-operation, as appropriate.

Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)
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It is wonderful to see the work being done acknowledged. The consultation process with interested parties will be completed later this year. Do the interested parties consist only of the PSNI and the Garda, or will all other interested parties be included? It is important that local groups working in this area are consulted. If we are to do this exercise only once, I would like to think we will do it properly. I hope the Department will keep me briefed on this ongoing issue.

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I will pass the Senator's request to the Minister