Róisín Shortall
Ceist:
145. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the grant and funding schemes operated by his Department; the value of each scheme; and the basis or criteria used for the allocation of funding in respect of each scheme. [51409/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra
I wish to confirm to the Deputy that the information sought cannot be provided in the time allowed. As soon as the information has been collated I will write to the Deputy on the matter.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 145 for answer on 6th December 2018, in which the Deputy requested the grant and funding schemes operated by my Department; the value of each scheme; and the basis or criteria used for the allocation of funding in respect of each scheme.
As the Deputy will recall, the information you requested could not be obtained in the time available and I undertook to contact you again.
In order to be of the greatest possible assistance, my officials have compiled tabular information on various schemes and general funding in operation across my Department. The basis of these funding mechanisms differs from case to case and is also explained in the table. Note the information is current as of December 2018.
General Funding:
Anti Human Trafficking Division
(AHTU)
The AHTU has two active Service Level Agreements in place. Ruhama and MRCI currently receive grants on a pre-funding basis, whereby both organisations submit budgets and business cases in Q4 of each year for the next year's grant. Ruhama has received funding from DJE since 2008 and MRCI since 2010. In 2018, €325,000 was allocated to Ruhama for the provision of support and assistance to women who have been the victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation with a particular focus on exit supports. AHTU allocated €50,000 to MRCI in 2018 to provide support for victims of trafficking for labour exploitation. Service Level Agreements are in place for all grants.
Chief Information Office (CIO)
The CIO
have a budget of €280,000 which is used to commission research.
COSC Office
Under the Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based violence 2016-2021, funding is being provided from the Cosc office to support the following initiatives:
1. National Awareness Campaign to tackle domestic and sexual violence entitled “Whatwouldyoudo”. Please see link to the campaign at http://whatwouldyoudo.ie/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5fLarpSG3wIVDuJ3Ch3UYApSEAAYASAAEgIFDPD_BwE
Subject to the availability of Exchequer funding each year, annual funding of €950,000 has been approved by Government over the lifetime of the National Strategy 2016-2021, inclusive.
2. Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, is currently supporting and overseeing the implementation of a uniform national domestic abuse intervention programme entitled the Choices Programme. This Choices Programme is currently being rolled out across the State in 18 site locations by the following three organisations working with male perpetrators of domestic abuse and with their partners/ex-partners:
- MOVE (Men overcoming violence),
- MEND (Men ending domestic abuse), and
- NEDVIP (North East Domestic Violence Intervention Programme).
Total funding of approximately €870,000 is being made available to this project during 2018.
3. Cosc also currently provides a small level of annual funding to a number of Non Government Organisations for specific initiatives to address the problem of sexual violence.
In 2018 this is including the provision of funding of €40,000 to the Rape Crisis Network Ireland to support its legal advocacy work and funding of €22,000 to Dublin Rape Crisis Centre for its work on the Bodyright sexual education awareness programme.
Equality Division
Equality Division provides funding of approximately €3.2 million to support Traveller and Roma groups and projects across the country. This funding is provided in a number of different ways. Core funding for administration and co-ordinator posts in the national Traveller and Roma representative organisations (e.g. Pavee Point) is provided annually. In addition, local Traveller and Roma organisations can receive funding for specific projects or for their core operational activities e.g. Directors, Finance Officers, community development workers and other administrators. These submissions are assessed as and when they are received and can be a once-off commitment or ongoing. Specific funding is provided for a number of job coaches to assist Travellers to enter employment. DJE took over responsibility for these projects from DEASP in 2015. Funding to promote Traveller and Roma Pride Week is provided each year. A call for applications is made and successful applicants receive up to €2,000 to promote Traveller and Roma culture in their local area. In 2017, a call for proposals was published looking for projects to promote Roma inclusion. Applications received were assessed against certain criteria and funding was awarded for projects for the years 2018-2020. Similarly, a call for proposals was made in late 2018 for projects to promote Roma employment. These projects will be funded using Dormant Accounts Funds. In addition, the Traveller Mediation Service is also funded through Dormant Accounts to help eliminate feuding among members of the Traveller community.
The National Disability Authority operates the Disability Awareness Raising Grant Scheme. Details are available from the Authority's website here: http://nda.ie/News-and-Events/News/Disability-Awareness-Raising-Grant-2018.html
Irish Prisons Service (IPS)
The Irish Prisons Service has entered into funding agreements with a number of community-based organisations to support healthcare, rehabilitation and resettlement services for prisoners and to support families visiting prisons. IPS provide funding of €102,578 to Irish Penal Reform Trust (IRPT).
Irish Refugee Protection Programme
The Irish Refugee Protection Programme manages a number of grants (see the 25 entries hereunder) that support the resettlement of refugees in Ireland. The grants to local authorities outlined in the table mobilises European Union Funding under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to support refugees resettled in the community in Ireland. Local authorities play a critical role in ensuring the successful integration of refugees through the provision of housing and the implementation of a process carried out by an "implementing partner" with expertise in community integration and relevant supports. The IRPP also grant aids the Irish Red Cross which was assigned responsibility by the Government for administering public pledges of accommodation in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Its case workers and support team work closely with IRPP and in particular focus on supporting single refugees. The IOM is grant funded by the IRPP, which utilises the AMIF funding mechanism, to support the IRPP's selection of refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, as well as, the pre-departure medical screening and transport logistics for refugees arriving in Ireland. The current framework agreement in place between the IRPP and IOM covers the period 1st May 2018 to 31st December 2019 and covers settlement support costs of €1.3 million for 1,216 persons. A new initiative called Community Sponsorship is also being supported with grants from the IRPP. This project offers a positive opportunity to strengthen communities through a shared project which will be conducted on a pilot basis with up to 50 refugees.
