Martin Kenny
Ceist:
720. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the average cost of providing one fully qualified psychotherapist to one crime victim support service per annum, such as one service (details supplied) funded by the Department of Justice. [34068/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra
I have sought information on this issue raised by the Deputy from Tusla but the information was not available in time. I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to your Parliamentary Question 720 and 721 of 28 June 2022 asking the average cost of providing one fully qualified psychotherapist to one domestic violence survivor support service per annum (Women’s Aid), and to one crime victim support service (Support After Crime).
You will recall that at the time I had reached out to Tusla to request any information they may have on this and I undertook to forward that information when received.
It is important to note that Tusla’s funding and my Department’s funding does not include provision for specialist services that are the responsibility of other Departments/agencies – the funding of specialist mental health roles such as this would fall under the remit of the HSE.
I’m informed by Tusla that its allocation to Women’s Aid in 2022 is €874,011.00. This funding is for service delivery including staff costs. Tusla does not recommend salary scales or types of qualifications to organisations as it is the organisation and not Tusla that is the employer.
Rather, the DSGBV programme in Tusla assesses business cases submitted by organisations on the evidence of need. To this end Tusla does not hold a standardised pay rate for particular posts mentioned in any particular organisation. There is variation across the DSBGV service providers on costs associated with domestic violence survivor support services.
I can also confirm that my Department will allocate €200,000 in funding for Women’s Aid this year, and €165,000 for Support After Crime, but similarly we do not hold a standardised pay rate for particular posts.
In June, as you may be aware, I launched the Third National Strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, an ambitious five-year programme of reform to achieve a society which does not accept DSGBV or the attitudes which underpin it.
Our goal is clear: zero tolerance of domestic, sexual and gender based violence.
This is a whole-of-Government and whole-of-society plan of action.
The Strategy cuts across multiple departments and this underlines the multi-faceted nature of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
We must ensure that there are proper supports in place for victims, effective punishments for perpetrators, but central to this strategy is the commitment to changing societal attitudes that overlook or tolerate domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
The Strategy shows a lot of ambition, including in targets to double the number of refuge spaces by 2026 and in the provision of an array of enhanced services for victims and survivors over its lifetime.
This will, of course, require resourcing, including the recruitment of additional staff in the sector, and the new Strategy provides for a significant increase in support for the sector.
