Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
921. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice the number of reports of breaches of protection, safety and barring orders (including interim barring orders) that were made to An Garda Síochána in 2021, 2022 and 2023; the number of subsequent arrests that are made following such reports; the number of convictions in court on foot of these reports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15038/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraCombatting all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based remains a priority for this Government, for the Department of Justice and for the Garda Commissioner.
'Zero Tolerance,' the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV), sets out an ambitious whole of government five-year programme of reform to achieve a society which does not accept DSGBV or the attitudes which underpin these crimes. The Strategy, which was co-designed with the sector, also has a significant focus on improving the system for victims of these terrible crimes and on ensuring there is a full range of supports and services available nationwide to support and empower victims and survivors.
I can assure the Deputy that creating a criminal justice system that supports and protects victims at every stage of their journey through it, is and will remain a priority. To ensure this is the case, An Garda Síochána and my Department are continuing to work hard to strengthen trust and confidence in the system so that victims are confident in coming forward to report what has happened to them and get justice.
An Garda Síochána prioritise and proactively respond to incidents of domestic abuse and as the Deputy may be aware, there is now a Divisional Protective Services Unit in each Garda Division, meaning specialised teams are in place nationwide to engage with vulnerable victims in these most difficult cases.
As part of delivering on the commitments under the Third National Strategy, I have strengthened the law to combat all forms of domestic, sexual and gender based violence, including by introducing new stand-alone offences of stalking and non-fatal strangulation and by doubling to 10 years the maximum sentence for assault causing harm, this being one of the most common offences in domestic violence cases. I am also progressing a new Sexual Offences Bill which will, among other things, improve supports for victims.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, and all Garda operations, including the recording of charges.
In relation to the recording of convictions, the Deputy will also be aware that management of the courts, including operational matters and logistical functions, are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution.
The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie.
To be of assistance, I have contacted both agencies on the Deputy's behalf.
In relation to breaches of domestic violence orders, An Garda Síochána have provided the following information:
|
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|||
|
Incident Type |
Incidents |
Arrests |
Incidents |
Arrests |
Incidents |
Arrests |
|
Breach of Barring Order |
742 |
411 |
697 |
356 |
664 |
316 |
|
Breach of Interim Barring Order |
144 |
107 |
137 |
80 |
159 |
95 |
|
Breach of Protection Order |
2096 |
1302 |
2305 |
1353 |
2440 |
1275 |
|
Breach of Safety Order |
1693 |
1072 |
1598 |
924 |
1841 |
991 |
|
Grand Total |
4675 |
2892 |
4737 |
2713 |
5104 |
2677 |
*This is operational data taken from PULSE on 4 April 2024 and is liable to change.
I am informed by the Court Service that they can only provide details of convictions that have been before the court, irrespective of when the report was made to An Garda Síochána.
The Courts Service have provided statistics on the number of convictions in cases that have been before the Courts for the years 2021, 2022, 2023 and the table below outlines the number of offences and the number of persons in the District Court where convictions haven been recorded for the period January 2021 – December 2023.
|
Year |
Number of Offences where convictions were recorded |
Number of Persons Convicted |
|
2021 |
782 |
530 |
|
2022 |
699 |
502 |
|
2023 |
815 |
542 |
|
Total |
2296 |
1574 |
* Courts can only provide data in relation to where offence codes provided on the system were used by prosecutors. Prosecutors may have used uncoded free text offences and any such offences would not be included in the data provided.
