Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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471. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department will contribute to the funding of a second sexual abuse and violence study here, SAVI 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45632/17]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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472. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the date by which he will conclude his investigation into the financial feasibility, resource implications and approaches to identifying a ring-fenced funding stream for undertaking a SAVI 2 study; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45636/17]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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479. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for his decision to reverse the plan to fund an updated SAVI study as promised by his predecessor in view of the fact that the findings in the past study are 12 years old; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45756/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 471, 472 and 479 together.

The Government is totally committed to preventing and addressing sexual abuse and gender-based violence in Ireland. It is very important to me and to the Government that policy is driven by accurate, up to date, reliable data.  The 2002 Sexual Assault and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) report was ground-breaking when it was published but much has changed for the better in the 15 years since.

There are now some excellent data sources that were not available when SAVI research was undertaken in 2002 including

- the 2014 EU-wide Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) study on violence against women which provided comparative prevalence data across all 28 member states and included modules on cyber stalking and harassment

- the EU Eurobarometer study which also provided comparative data across the EU on attitudes to violence against women in 2016.

Eurostat, the EU statistics body, is preparing for a gender-based violence victimisation survey. It is anticipated that Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) would participate in such a survey.

Existing data on sexual crimes, published by the Central Statistics Office, has also been strengthened ensuring a more robust time series of data.

The Courts Service also publishes annual figures on sexual offences being dealt with by the courts, and the country's six Sexual Assault Treatment units have a unified reporting system on the use of their medical and forensic services.

Active consideration is being given to a further SAVI type study with factors including the new sources of more recent data in relation to sexual violence available to underpin and inform policy development along with the need for ongoing investment in support services for victims.  The Ministers for Children and Youth Affairs, Health and I have been asked by the Taoiseach to consider if statistics on sexual violence are adequate and to examine if the statistics are comparable with those collated in other EU countries.