Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 May 2022
341. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the initiatives his Department is taking to help victims and survivors of childhood sexual abuse; the funding being provided for organisations that work in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22350/22]
View answerTusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of children and provides and/or funds a range of supports and services to victims of sexual abuse, including Domestic, Sexual & Gender Based Violence (DSGBV). In 2022, my Department has provided Tusla with an annual budget (current expenditure) of €881m, an effective increase of over €40m on its 2021 allocation, which will help the agency to continue to deliver these supports and meet growing demand for its services, including support services for those who have experienced sexual violence.
Tusla provides annual funding to 16 rape crisis centres nationwide. Services provided by these centres include specialist counselling for individuals seeking assistance in coming to terms with their experiences.
Tusla child protection social workers receive referrals of child sexual abuse and work with children, families and other professionals and agencies to make sure children are safe from harm. The “Child Abuse Substantiation Procedure” (CASP) is a revision of the 2014 Policy “Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Abuse and Neglect”. It is based on learnings that indicated the need to further enhance consistency of practice across Tusla. In addition, changes were also required to incorporate new legal judgements in this complex area of law and practice.
The CASP, which will be implemented on 27th June 2022, will assist social workers in achieving an optimum standard of child protection practice when carrying out substantiation assessments. Furthermore, this procedure will allow Tusla to function within the correct parameters of legal obligations, fair procedures and information management.
Furthermore, my Department is leading on the development and implementation of Barnahus Ireland which is a significant initiative to help victims and survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Barnahus is a child-friendly, interdisciplinary and multiagency model of service that brings child protection, policing, medical, therapeutic and forensic services together, under one roof, to provide services for children who experience sexual abuse and their families.
My Department has been awarded financial and technical support from the EU and the Council of Europe, to help expand the Barnahus model in Ireland. In addition to the Barnahus West in Galway, which is currently in operation, two further locations in the East and South will provide national coverage and access for victims and families to the service. At present, funding in the region of €1.38m is available to support the implementation of the Barnahus model of service delivery in Ireland.
