Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If I skip over any of the issues, the Chairman might remind me but I think I have made a note of most of what the Deputy mentioned. This will absolutely be published before the summer recess. I appreciate the intention was to publish it this month but we want to ensure we get a number of elements right. The change for the provision of services from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to my Department has meant we have had a particular focus on that work and ensuring there is enough done on the development of new refuge accommodation for inclusion in the strategy. It is a really important element of the strategy.

I also took a decision to have a final consultation, knowing it would probably delay the publication of the strategy. This was important as we have consulted with people, organisations and representative groups. We have worked side by side with them for the past year and half. That has slightly delayed things but I can confirm that it will be published before the summer recess. It will be published in a matter of weeks.

There are a number of layers in the structures we have in place with respect to accountability. The Deputy mentioned the Cabinet committee on social affairs. Currently, the Department of Justice - that is me and my team - will oversee the implementation of the strategy but it is a whole-of-government strategy. The agency working with the Department will oversee the implementation when it is set up. The Cabinet committee on social affairs will meet on a regular basis but we do not have to tie down particular dates. It will be meeting more regularly than it does now. There is a separate structure involving the Secretaries General from the Department of the Taoiseach and my Department, who will meet to ensure the information needed for the Cabinet committee can be provided and there is time for the Departments to be engaged. There are quite a number of sides involved but the day-to-day implementation will be through the Department and agency.

There will be continuous work to develop the agency and measures will be put in place to ensure continuous engagement with front-line workers and the community and relevant sectors. We are already engaging with them and we are looking to identify the best way to establish the agency within the critical path was set out by the various different players and things that need to happen over the next 18 months. Everything will be done in consultation and that will continue when the strategy is launched. If something is not happening or working, we will get the feedback from the sector and those working on the ground. That will be very helpful. This is the first time we have co-designed our strategy with the sector and I hope that process has been very beneficial for both sides.

On reporting, the intention is to report on a half-year basis. We need to allow time for work to progress and things to happen. As there is a level of engagement and structure built into the agency, there will always be that engagement with the sector and those working on the ground. We will set out clearly the budget not just for this and next year but for the lifetime of the strategy. That will include not only my Department but other Departments and their actions. Quite a number of actions will not require any additional funding within a budget but there will clearly be funding required that would be new money. Of course, with regard to current spending for the delivery of services, funding will increase, and there will be capital spending on refuges and accommodation. We have already set out figures as to how much it will cost to deliver in the short, medium and long term throughout the strategy.

With regard to refuges, accommodation and related services, the intention is there will be wrap-around support for services connected with refuge and accommodation. I appreciate that to date there has not been per se, a dedicated DSGBV capital fund and instead it has come through the capital assistance programme. That means it is very much a bottom-up approach in that agencies, individuals, community groups and local authorities must go to the scheme and Tusla, and it is quite a difficult and lengthy process. If there is no agency on the ground or particular group that is willing to drive the process, or if there are just other challenges preventing it from happening, this can be a very difficult process. The interdepartmental group I mentioned has been established, and it comprises representatives of my Department and the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Public Expenditure and Reform, as well as Tusla. We are currently looking at the structure and how it can improved so it is not just a bottom-up approach. There must be potential, if the State must intervene, for there to be a more proactive approach in that regard.

We are already engaging with various different refuges on the ground working on new projects. We are getting information from them on what is working and not, and we are sharing best practice. That will help us deliver best practice in capital delivery. It is the same as when we build schools, we have a template and we know what works or is best practice. We want something similar here so that every refuge is not just about physical beds and the accommodation that people need but the wrap-around supports, services and environment that must come with that. We are looking beyond that in terms of other supports people might need separate to the refuge. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has said publicly that the capital assistance scheme and his Department will support funding to develop those other ancillary supports and not just the accommodation piece.

I am very conscious there are nine counties where there are no refuges. I was in the Deputy's county recently and met representatives of the local women's network. I know there is fantastic work happening on the ground and we must harness those efforts in working with organisations to see how we can deliver new accommodation as quickly as possible.

On the question of who is responsible, we are working with Tusla and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to sign off on a memorandum of understanding, MOU. Once that is signed, my Department and I as the Minister will be responsible for the delivery of services working directly with Tusla. That means there will be no gap. Currently the work is happening, as it normally does, between Tusla and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Once the MOU is signed, the responsibility will transfer to my Department. Once the agency is established, that will take over in that regard. I assure people there will be no gap.

There was a question on timelines and this takes in the short, medium and long term. People might see a couple of months as the short term but irrespective of how much we can tidy the process, shorten it and improve it, it takes time to develop and build any time of accommodation and ensure services and supports are correct and fit or appropriate for what we need. In the short term we will be able to set ourselves target over the next two years for what we will deliver in the lifetime of the strategy, which is five years. The longer-term plan is for ten years. That is the way it has been set out the Tusla accommodation review to ensure we can meet our Istanbul Convention requirements.

We agree that funding must be increased for service providers and that is what we are working on. That is to ensure we are not just getting increased funding every year to match the increase in accommodation but that we are looking at increasing support for those people already there and the work already happening to allow those services to expand. In many counties where we have accommodation, it must expand as well. It is not just about new accommodation but expanding the services that are there, which will require additional current funding. We are looking at all those figures, which will be set out in the strategy when it is launched.

On the question of migrant women, there is a particular focus on ensuring that those who are most vulnerable have access to supports and information and they are supported in the best way possible. That is why we have engaged with many of the organisations and they have been key in providing the type of information we need to ensure this strategy is adequate and it protects immigrant and migrant women. That includes looking at our immigration system and ensuring that information is provided in the right language. It means working with the organisations that are closest to those communities.

On the question of female genital mutilation, one of the requests was that this would allow anybody to seek international protection. It already falls under "gender" as a reason to be able to seek international protection.

That is a UN term that captures quite a number of different things. Certainly, if somebody has been a victim of FGM, she is currently legally entitled to seek international protection. There will be further work done, through the Department of Health, on the strategy on this particular issue as well. I think that I have touched on most issues but I am happy to come back in if I missed something.