Newly appointed Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said today he was setting up an agency to support the victims of crime.
Speaking at his first engagement in his new role, at a Garda Reserve Graduation ceremony in Templemore, Mr Lenihan said the new Victims Support Agency would be underpinned by legislation.
He said it had to be recognised that "for every crime there is a victim" who often feels they are the "forgotten element of the criminal justice system".
"I have asked my officials to examine as a matter of urgency the best and quickest way to get a Victims Support Agency up and running effectively," he added.
"This Agency, which in due course will be underpinned by legislation, will be fully resourced and staffed and its core mandate will be to champion the rights of victims of crime.
"I believe that this body will make a real difference and will ensure that the victims of crime will have a voice and will be heard in our criminal justice system."
On the Garda Reserve, Mr Lenihan said he believed its establishment "is one of the most important and farsighted" innovations in the Force in recent years.
"The Garda Reserve brings new life to the organisation through its members as they approach their duties with the different perspectives and skills developed in their everyday professions and lives," he said.
"The Garda Reserve allows committed individuals from a great diversity of professional, social, cultural and ethnic groups to participate in policing and serving their communities.
"It opens up a very challenging form of civic service to men and women of maturity and experience who otherwise could not have become members of a police force of which we are rightly very proud."
