Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I wish to raise the valid demand by the Coalition on Violence Against Women for a ring-fenced Supplementary Estimate for 2005 and a monthly annual funding package from 2006 onwards to ensure adequate financial support for front-line services for women who have survived domestic violence or sexual assault.

The current funding arrangements are short term and insecure. There is widespread, consistent and persistent underfunding of these services. The net result is that the agencies providing these services, such as Women's Aid and the network of refuges and rape crisis centres throughout the country, cannot cope at present with the increased demand due to lack of resources. The Minister is well aware of this. These agencies have been subjected to an indefensible funding freeze over the past three years, in effect three years of cutbacks. The Government has also failed to ensure that such services are available in every county, as should be the case.

I have been attempting to have this matter dealt with since December last year. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has washed his hands of it and passed it to his party colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children. It appears that interdepartmental responsibility for services in this sector is being used as an excuse for inaction by the Government.

Last week, I asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to ensure that sexual assault forensic testing is available in every county to improve the worryingly low rate of successful prosecutions and convictions in this area. It is astonishing that such a basic facility is not available after almost ten years of the Celtic tiger economy. His reply was to pass the buck to the Minister for Health and Children. Simply put, justice for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault is not a priority with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. His mind is elsewhere, on rounding up immigrants, setting up press councils or, indeed, wrecking the peace process.

In responding to my questions on this issue, the Minister for Health and Children passed the buck in two directions, one to the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform who chairs the national steering committee on violence against women. The other was to the new Health Service Executive. There must be no more ducking and weaving. Women need justice and support rather than falling through the cracks of Government indifference.

The Minister is aware of the statistics. Representatives of the sector made detailed submissions on this matter in recent years, particularly before last Christmas. The consequences of the funding freeze are real. Almost one quarter of Irish women have been abused by a current or former partner and almost half of all women have experienced some form of sexual abuse in their lifetime. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, for example, received almost 12,000 calls in 2003. In the same year, refuges had to turn away at least 700 women and children. Women's Aid responded to nearly 13,000 calls but missed almost another 6,000 because it did not have enough staff.

It is critical that there is a public commitment from the Minister on the required funding increase prior to the introduction of the Finance Bill 2005. Even though the Bill has been published, it is not too late to amend it. What we seek is very simple. We want increased funding for this sector in 2005 of €7 million to bring the budgetary allocation to €19 million. This level of funding would maintain existing services and allow for additional provision for those women who are otherwise likely to fall through the gaps. Furthermore, we seek the provision of a ring-fenced, multi-annual funding package from 2006 to ensure that the services in question do not suffer at the whim of a Minister for Finance with an eye to the next general election who decides there are not enough votes in front-line services for women and to ladle the gravy elsewhere.

The Progressive Democrats are selling themselves to the public as a party of action and delivery. There are two Progressive Democrats Party Ministers with joint lead responsibility in this area. I seek an answer from the Tánaiste as to whether she will get this done for the women of the State.

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