Vol. 571 No. 3
31 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Science the payments which have been made to abuse support groups and representational bodies here and in the UK; and if the spending of such funds is being monitored. [21544/03]
My Department continues to be engaged in a wide-ranging programme designed to provide redress for the historical abuse of children in institutions. This programme was instigated in May 1999 with the Taoiseach's apology to all victims of abuse on behalf of Irish society.
The provision of funding for the survivor support groups and the outreach support services is to meet the costs of providing a comprehensive information and referral service for victims of abuse, both in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The services provided include information services for survivors on the Government strategy for addressing historic abuse and referral services to counselling, education and other health services.
Funding is currently provided for a number of support groups, namely, Right of Place, SOCA UK, Alliance and Right to Peace. My Department also provides funding for five outreach centres in the United Kingdom, two in London one each in Sheffield, Manchester and Coventry.
The following is a breakdown of the funding provided for the survivor groups in 2002 and 2003 to date:
|
Group |
2002 |
2003 |
|
€ |
€ |
|
|
Right of Place |
149,423.34 |
NIL (Approved 110,000.00) |
|
SOCA UK |
33,206.85 |
48,283.51 |
|
Alliance |
19,046.00 |
3,000.00 (A further 3,000.00 approved) |
|
Right to Peace |
12,000.00 |
6,000.00 |
|
NOVA Office |
164,413.00 |
81,000.00 |
|
€ |
||
|
2002 |
Total spend |
547,689.41 |
|
2003 |
Total spend |
365,429.46(to date) |
