Senator Bacik Welcomes New Garda Sex Offences Unit
31 March 2010
STATEMENT BY SENATOR IVANA BACIK Labour Seanad Spokesperson for Justice, Equality & Law Reform Wednesday 31st March 2010 BACIK WELCOMES NEW GARDA SEX OFFENCES UNIT Speaking in the Seanad today, Senator Ivana Bacik welcomed the announcement by Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy that a new sex offences unit will be established within the Garda Siochana to improve the prosecution rates of sex crimes. Senator Bacik said: "For a long time there has been serious concern about the low rate of prosecution of sex offences reported to the Gardai. We also know that only a proportion of sex offences actually committed are even reported to the Gardai, so it is very worrying that so few of those offences reported are proceeded with. I am delighted that the Gardai are now establishing a new central unit to ensure that best investigative practice of these offences is carried out in accordance with international standards." Noting that the Garda Commissioner had said that the move was prompted by the Ryan and Murphy Reports, Senator Bacik added: "This new sexual crime management unit is however long overdue. It is scandalous that it has taken the appalling revelations of the Ryan and Murphy reports to bring about the setting up of the new central unit; and there are still serious questions to answer about apparent failures to investigate allegations of further offences committed by known convicted sex offenders, as revealed recently on the BBC Newsnight programme about former priest Bill Carney."