The legal system is failing to provide full protection to the victims of sexual crimes and a referendum is needed to address this, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has said.
He shared the concerns of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland over the sharp decline in the reporting of rapes and other serious sexual assaults revealed in the Central Statistics Office crime figures for the first quarter of the year.
"Real people are being exposed to real danger, and the legal system is not working 100 per cent in their favour at the moment," Mr McDowell said.
He was speaking at a passing-out ceremony at the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary.
Mr McDowell believed the decline in reporting of sexual offences was linked to a Supreme Court ruling last May which struck down legislation on statutory rape because it did not allow the accused to put forward a defence that they had been honestly mistaken about the age of the person with whom they had had sex.
Many experts at the time warned that victims would be more reluctant to come forward because they would now be open to robust cross-examination in the witness box.
"You may recall when the CC case and the A case were going through it was me who pointed out that there would be a significant effect in relation to this," Mr McDowell said.
"I am very strongly in favour of a referendum to restore absolutely liability for perpetrators. I think it's wrong that a young girl or young boy should be exposed to cross-examination at a young age where really the perpetrator should carry all of the liability in my view. I think the people of Ireland will very strongly support that referendum when it comes before them."
He cautiously welcomed data in the CSO's first quarterly crime figures, published on Wednesday, which revealed that the number of drug-dealing arrests had increased by 40 per cent since 1998.
"But this cuts both ways. There wouldn't be more arrests if there wasn't more [drug dealing] activity taking place. But it is reassuring to see there are more arrests taking place."
He said the full set of statistics showed crime was continuing to fall. Gardaí had staged major successful operations against gangland criminals of late. Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy had also put a system of local accountability in place for senior officers which, along with quarterly crime statistics, put pressure on those officers to achieve good results.
Mr McDowell also yesterday published the new Garda whistle-blowing regulations. He believed they would allow gardaí or civilian employees of An Garda Síochána to report corruption or malpractice within the force.
He said the Garda Síochána Confidential Reporting of Corruption or Malpractice Regulations 2007 represented a central element of the recommendations from the Morris tribunal. They would ensure "absolute accountability".
"And they will put an end to the problems which Mr Justice Morris identified in the context of discipline and accountability in the force. The other side of the coin is that a member of An Garda Síochána who believes that there is malpractice in the force should be in a position to communicate that information in confidence to someone they can trust . . . without jeopardising their own career."
Under the regulations the identity of a person making a complaint will be revealed only in very limited circumstances where such action is necessary for tackling the corruption or malpractice.
A complainant cannot be disciplined for making a confidential report. Any effort to bully or intimidate a complainant would result in disciplinary action.
The complainant must be given feedback on any investigations or action taken on foot of his or her report. The Garda Ombudsman Commission must be informed by the Garda Commissioner of all confidential reports and subsequent investigations. The Garda Síochána Inspectorate will also be informed of reports relevant to its remit.
A confidential recipient or recipients who are independent of An Garda Síochána will be appointed by the Minister to receive reports.
