Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2015
877. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of funding allocated to Towards Healing for the provision of counselling services for survivors of institutional abuse. [20319/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraTowards Healing, which is funded by the Catholic Church, provides counselling and related support to survivors of institutional, clerical or religious abuse and their families. My Department has no function in relation to this service and provides no funding to it.
As the Deputy may be aware Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with Towards Healing for the provision of counselling services to former residents who wish to continue receiving counselling via Towards Healing. The arrangement covers those former residents who are eligible for support from Caranua and who have received 80 counselling sessions from Towards Healing and whose further counselling needs have been recommended by an independent review panel to be clinically appropriate. Caranua will pay Towards Healing the agreed costs of the counselling services received by eligible former residents.
