Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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787. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost of the multiannual sexual violence prevalence study by the Central Statistics Office. [18451/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In line with the Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2016–2021 and in accordance with the Istanbul Convention, my Department and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in 2019 signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the undertaking of a nationally representative survey on the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland.

The CSO have begun the work on the large scale survey, called the Sexual Violence Survey. It will look in detail at the experience of sexual violence and abuse for both women and men in Ireland, with repeat surveys every decade.

This survey will be large-scale, complex and extremely sensitive. A completed sample of 5,000 adults, and a wide range of intimate questions on abuse in adult life and in childhood are envisaged. This will be a multi-annual project with timescales to be worked out by the CSO along with preparatory work on the survey. 

As part of its decision to proceed with the project, the previous Government agreed in principal to the provision of necessary resources in succeeding years in annual Budget allocations.  In terms of funding to date, my Department provided €150,000 for preparatory work in the 2019 budget allocation; and is funding work on the project in 2020 to the tune of €682,000.