Helen McEntee

The draft Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023 will be published “as soon as possible” following Cabinet approval last week, with a view to the agency being up and running in January 2024.

The recruitment process for CEO of the new agency will begin by the end of this month.

Justice minister Helen McEntee said the bill is “a top government priority under the autumn legislative programme” and will be introduced in the Dáil by the end of September.

The main functions of the new agency will be:

• planning, coordinating and monitoring the development of refuge accommodation;
• providing support, including financial assistance, for the delivery of services to victims and persons at risk of DSGBV;
• developing standards for funded services, and monitoring compliance;
• co-ordinating the delivery of relevant government strategies and plans;
• delivering public campaigns aimed at raising awareness of DSGBV and reducing its prevalence; and
• carrying out ongoing research to support the development of future policies and programmes.

Mrs McEntee said recommendations made by the justice committee in its scrutiny of the general scheme of the bill have “been given close consideration and taken on board to the greatest extent practicable”.

She added: “We have listened, we have consulted, we have researched and I strongly believe this dedicated agency will be a success and will make a positive difference to the many lives devastated by these forms of violence and abuse.”