Delay criticised as rape crisis helpline highlighted

FRUSTRATION AT "delay after delay" in the opening of two new sexual assault treatment units in the west and midlands was expressed yesterday by the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Speaking at the unveiling of a new campaign to raise awareness of the centre's helpline, Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop said €2.4 million had been made available in budget 2006 to update existing units in Dublin, Letterkenny, Waterford and Cork and to open two new units in Mullingar and Galway.

Currently the Letterkenny unit was closed and the Mullingar and Galway units had not come on stream.

Asked why the units had not opened, Ms O'Malley-Dunlop said: "At this stage I don't know. We have representation on the steering committee and there has just been delay after delay. There are venues, €2.4 million has been made available and was ring-fenced, and again €2.4 million was made available this year and ringfenced, so we just don't know where it's at, at this stage."

The Minister of State with responsibility for Equality, John Moloney, who was at the event, said he would look into the reasons for the delay. "It's important to give a commitment that over the next two to three weeks we do our best to resolve the issue."

A spokeswoman for the HSE said it was expected that the Mullingar unit would be open before the end of the year.

Mr Moloney also expressed his view that the Director of Public Prosecutions James Hamilton should include alleged rapes and sexual assault among those alleged crimes he would, in some instances, explain not prosecuting.

Mr Hamilton recently announced he would begin giving reasons for not prosecuting in alleged murder cases.

This is the second awareness-raising campaign from the centre.

It will be based around bill-board advertisements. In the new year, a series of television ads will run on the six Irish channels, highlighting the 24-hour, free, confidential helpline with the slogan a "new beginning at the end of the line".

Ms O'Malley-Dunlop said the campaign was about encouraging people who had suffered a recent rape, sexual assault or a past rape or childhood sexual abuse to come forward and avail of help.

The national helpline operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, on 1800 778888.