Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 December 2020
160. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will review the current funding programme on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42294/20]
View answerThe response to Domestic, Sexual Violence and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross Departmental and multi-agency issue. Policy is coordinated by the Department of Justice. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV.
I am pleased that my Department has been able to allocate additional funding of €4.7 million to Tusla to support DSGBV services across the country in 2021. A total of €30 million will be made available by DCEDIY to Tusla to fund DSGBV services. This includes a €2.7 million increase in core funding, bringing core service provision to €28 million, with an additional €2 million of one-off contingency funding being made available to help services cope with the ongoing effects of COVID-19. This increase in funding reflects my personal commitment on this issue. I am hopeful that these additional resources will enable services to continue their valuable supports for victims and their families at a very vulnerable time in their lives.
It is important to note that not all funding to this sector issues via my Department. The Department of Justice allocates funding to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and support victims of crime, including victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Many voluntary organisations in the DSGBV sector have also received capital funding via the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS), which is administered by local authorities on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
While funding will be crucial to our success, it is imperative that we have the right structures in place to respond as effectively as possible to DSGBV. Under the Programme for Government, we have committed to undertaking an audit of responsibility for DSGBV across Departments and State agencies. The procurement process to secure the expertise to conduct this audit is under way, in conjunction with my colleague the Minister for Justice. We expect that the audit will be completed early next year, and the Government will act on the basis of that audit.
