After ten years of this Government, waiting has become a legacy. It is what we do. Every day people are forced to wait in traffic, children wait for months to see an orthodontist, patients wait for years to see a neurologist and people wait for up to a decade to receive a house from a local authority. Today, like every other day, 274 men and women wait on trolleys in units throughout the country. Every day, in every public service we try to use, waiting has become a national pastime. It is the legacy of the past ten years.

I want the Taoiseach to imagine a different kind of waiting. I want him to imagine the plight of a woman who has been sexually abused or raped in this city on a Friday night. Her first instinct is to scrub herself clean but she cannot do that. She too has to wait. She has to wait in those clothes, not for hours but for days, for the simple reason that the Government has provided inadequate resources and there is no doctor on duty in the Rotunda assessment unit. That woman, who has been sexually abused or raped, will wait on Friday evening, all day Saturday and all Saturday night. She cannot have a shower and is unable to feel clean again simply because to do so would destroy the evidence which nobody is able to take up because there is no doctor on duty until Sunday evening.

This happens not only in Dublin. Recently, two women who were sexually abused and assaulted had to travel to be treated in Dublin because no facilities were available locally. There are times in Cork when women who have been raped or sexually assaulted must travel to Waterford for treatment.

Women wait and suffer while the rapists go on about their lives. This happens because there are insufficient gardaí and because assault unit staff are not present to collect evidence when they should be. These women, having been raped or assaulted, must wait for lengthy periods in the clothes they wore when the assault occurred because we do not have doctors on duty and insufficient staff are available to take evidence when necessary.

The cost of sorting out this problem is a mere €3 million. I ask the Taoiseach, as the leader of the country and the Head of Government, in these days of protest about violence against women, whether the time has come to treat this matter with political will and as a political priority. Will the Taoiseach allocate €3 million to sort out this problem and not have women who have been raped or sexually abused waiting, weekend after weekend, in the same clothes for days on end because no doctor is available and no one is available to take the evidence, which would be destroyed if they showered and cleaned themselves off as they want to do?

This had not been brought to my attention until I watched the RTE report last week which indicated that on the weekend before last a number of women were, as described by Deputy Kenny, left waiting in the Rotunda sexual assault treatment unit, and were told to wait in their clothes for a prolonged period in poor facilities. I raised the matter with the HSE and asked for an explanation of the position.

There is dispute, as there always is on these issues. I was going on what I saw. The chairperson of the rape crisis unit gave an even-handed report on the circumstances and the requirement for resources. There is dispute about the facts of what actually happened in the unit. That is neither here nor there. These are small units. It does not seem like a big issue or a big financial issue to resolve. There are four sexual assault treatment units in the Irish Republic — in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Letterkenny. It is recognised that it can be difficult to obtain medical expertise for forensic examination. The national review of sexual assault treatment services recommends the establishment of further units in the west and midlands to ensure nobody is more than three hours' drive from a sexual assault treatment unit. The HSE has identified a resource requirement to develop such units. It has argued that such works should be covered in the 2007 Estimates. That request is being examined. Services for people who report rape or sexual assault should, as far as possible, be available locally. It is vital that such services are provided within a short period of time by practitioners who conduct the relevant examinations on a regular basis. It has been suggested to me that issues relating to skills and the level of expertise should be addressed. I have also been asked to ensure that a unit is established in the west. There are two issues in this regard. One issue relates to what is needed in 2007. The other issue relates to what happened in the Rotunda Hospital the weekend before last. I have asked that it not happen again.

It happened again last weekend.

I will not get into the two sides of the story because I do not think it would do much for either side. The fact is that it should not happen.

There are no two sides to the story.

There are no two sides.

There is only one side to the story.

The Government has failed again.

This is Deputy Kenny's question. Perhaps his party colleagues will allow him to hear the answer.

I do not want to get into all the sides of the argument. I was shown what happened over an enormous amount of weekends. There was a problem on a certain weekend and then a campaign was lined up around that weekend. The information I received related to the number of victims presenting for examination and treatment. I was told there is a sexual assault reporting rate of nine for every 100,0000. I was also told that the services had been provided way beyond that. I do not know whether they had or had not. The fact is that a coherent argument was made to the effect that there was a major problem on the weekend in question. I took up the matter on that weekend. I received all kinds of figures to show that adequate numbers of staff are available. The case in question relates to one doctor. I do not intend to get into an argument about why a doctor was not in the Rotunda Hospital on a certain weekend. People were rostered.

What argument is there?

There was no doctor to deal with women who had been raped.

I do not roster doctors in the Rotunda Hospital.

The Taoiseach is responsible for everything else.

I do not intend to get into why a doctor was not available. Those involved in the lobby group in this regard, who seem quite fair, asked me to provide for a treatment centre in Galway, in addition to those in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Letterkenny.

What about Limerick?

The Department of Finance is examining the group's resource proposals for 2007.

I find the Taoiseach's reply appalling because its implication is that women who are sexually assaulted or raped should shut up, go away and be quiet.

Nobody said that.

The Taoiseach was doubting the word of such women.

Nobody said that.

Deputy Kenny is stooping very low.

It is appalling.

If a number of the Taoiseach's Ministers concentrated on their briefs——

Nobody said that.

——instead of devoting their time to giving out about the Opposition, they might be better off.

Hear, hear.

Deputy Kenny should look after his own brief.

This problem could be sorted by the provision of €2.8 million. The Taoiseach's reply did not deal with the anguish, torment and mental desperation of women who have been raped and then have to sit in their own clothes from Friday or Saturday night until Sunday evening because no doctors are available. That would not have happened when the Taoiseach was the financial director of the Mater Hospital. He would have made sure there was a doctor on duty. The report published in June found there is no unit in the west or the midlands, that the unit in Letterkenny is closed and that the unit in Cork does not operate effectively. The remaining units are those in Waterford and Dublin. I have been informed by the Rape Crisis Centre that the weekend before last, a garda drove a woman who had been raped and sexually assaulted around in a squad car because there was no unit to go to. It is absolutely appalling that something like that should happen in 2006. The Government intends to spend €54 billion next year, but it cannot provide €2.8 million to sort out our sexual assault treatment units. People who perpetrate crimes of this nature — rapists — should be subject to the process of the law and should be put where they belong, which is behind bars. It is perfectly obvious that nobody is being arrested because the number of convictions has decreased seriously. It seems that just 5% of reported rapes go to court.

I would like the Taoiseach to answer some questions. The provision of €2.8 million would sort this out. This should be a matter of political priority for everybody in this House and outside it. It is not as if there is no campaign in this regard. However, there is no understanding of the mental anguish, torment and desperation that women have to suffer, weekend after weekend, in this city and elsewhere. I would like the Taoiseach to respond to me by saying the Government will provide the approximately €3 million that is needed to sort out this problem and to put it aside. The unfortunate victims of sexual assault and rape should be able to go to units of this nature to clean themselves, or be cleaned, after the evidence that needs to be taken has been taken. Those who perpetrate these awful crimes should be subject to the process of the law and put behind bars.

Hear, hear.

There are no excuses.

There are two issues. The first is what happened in the Rotunda Hospital the weekend before last and what led to this issue being highlighted, correctly, in the media.

It happened again.

The facilities of the sexual assault treatment unit there were available, but there was no doctor. We are spending €14 billion on the health service. The facts relating to what happened are disputed. I am not responsible for rostering doctors, as I said. Given that the unit was on call, it should have been operational. The resources which are needed are provided in a number of units. What happened was not acceptable. The women in question should not have been treated in such a manner. Regardless of the various arguments — I have heard reports from both sides — it should not have happened. That is the point. It should not happen on any other weekend.

We also need to consider a second issue. There are four sexual assault treatment units, in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Letterkenny. A request has been made for the provision of a further unit in Galway. The national reporting rate is nine per 100,000. I understand there is not a difficulty. In the west and north-west regions, the rates are 3.6 and 4.4 respectively and I am told that is well-catered for. There is a difficulty in Galway, where a new unit is being sought. It is obvious that there are issues relating to the administration of the unit in the Rotunda Hospital. The Minister for Finance is dealing with the request for additional resources. It may already have been dealt with in the Estimates for 2007, so the service can be extended throughout the country. Under the criteria which were set out, which were based on the sexual assault reporting rate per 100,000 people, the victims of sexual assault should be treated within three hours. That is what was set down and agreed. I understand that the request, with which I agree, will be delivered on in 2007.

Will it be provided?

Who will be accountable?