Limerick East): I have received a copy of the Women's Aid pre-budget submission requesting additional funding for services for victims of domestic violence. To date the role of the health services in this area has been to support refuges for women and children subjected to violence in the home and to provide crisis support and counselling.
It has been recognised that the issue of domestic violence is extremely complex and cannot be tackled by any one Government Department in isolation. Accordingly, the Government has decided to assign responsibility for co-ordinating policy on women and violence across Government Departments to the office of the Tánaiste. The office has established a Working Group on Violence Against Women chaired by Minister of State, Deputy Eithne Fitzgerald, on which both my Department and the health boards are represented.
The working group is due to report to the Government in February 1977. I feel it would be important to await this report before coming to any firm conclusions with regard to the planning of future developments in this area. The Deputy will be aware that the provision of extra funding to the organisation will be dependent upon the additional funding made available to my Department in the 1997 Estimates for such services.
