Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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173. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of men and women who made reports of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence by county and year in each of the years 2016 to 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38918/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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With regard to the specific information requested by the deputy, the Garda authorities have provided me with the information in the tables attached.

The figures for 2016-2019 inclusive are complete calendar years. The figures for 2020 are for the year to date, up to and including 23^rdNovember. I am informed that there is no specific incident type which can be used to identify all incidents relating to gender-based violence.

I want to assure the Deputy that combatting Domestic Sexual and Gender Based violence is a key priority for me and my department. In recognition of the importance of the multi- agency approach required to address these matters fully, the draft Programme for Government contains a commitment to conduct an audit of statutory responsibilities in this area. I have just published a request for tender for a suitably qualified independent expert to undertake this audit who will, as part of their work, be required to take account of the views of those working at the frontline. The results of this independent audit will provide us with comprehensive analysis to inform how we advance our infrastructure to have the best outcomes in the future. In line with our Programme for Government Commitment, it will be completed by the end of March 2021.

Without prejudice to the outcome of this audit, the Programme for Government commits to the development of the third National Strategy to be agreed before the end of 2021, which will place a priority on prevention and reduction and will include a National Preventative Strategy. In partnership with our stakeholders, my Department is currently coordinating a review of the achievements made under the second strategy to help inform the third and we are fully on track to deliver on the Programme for Government commitment.

My Department coordinates the Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2016 – 2021 which is a whole-of-Government approach addressing the many actions necessary to address these matters fully.

The Strategy includes input from relevant community and voluntary groups as well as other stakeholders across the sector. This is achieved through a Monitoring Committee composed of stakeholders from all sectors working together in partnership; as well as ongoing cooperation between the Department and frontline services and industry partners.

A range of other relevant actions are being pursued in this area, for example:

- Giving full effect to the actions contained in Supporting a Victims Journey A plan to help victims and vulnerable witnesses in sexual violence caseswhich is a comprehensive roadmap for implementing the O’Malley recommendations

- my Department has agreed with the Central Statistics Office that it will conduct a major National Sexual Violence Prevalence Study, which will look in detail at women and men experience of sexual violence and abuse in Ireland, with repeat large scale surveys every decade, to provide a robust evidence-basis for Government policy;

- an independent study on domestic homicide and familicide is being carried out;

- public awareness campaigns have been organised on domestic abuse ("What would you do?" which ran from 2016-2018) and sexual violence ("No Excuses", which commenced in 2019 and is scheduled to run until 2021)

- an expanded Victims Charter has been published and is available on the website www.victimscharter.ie

- a proactive approach to dealing with incidents of domestic abuse by An Garda Síochána through their ongoing Operation Faoimseach which is a proactive initiative designed to ensure that victims of domestic abuse are supported and protected during this unprecedented time. Under this operation domestic abuse victims continue to receive the highest priority by An Garda Síochána.

- An Garda Síochána is also continuously improving its specialist services and Divisional Protective Services Units are rolled out nationwide with specially trained officers responsible for investigations, including engagement with victims.

I would emphasise that implementation of the Second National Strategy is monitored on an ongoing basis and actions may be added to it by agreement of the Monitoring Committee, which as mentioned is made up of representatives from state agencies and the community and voluntary sector.

Finally, the Deputy may also be interested to note that my Department is currently leading efforts to identify lessons which can be learned from the inter-agency plan which we put in place to address domestic abuse, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. This process includes input from the community and voluntary sector working in this area. This will strengthen our national response to the issues of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.