Dáil debates

Thursday, 20 October 2005

5:00 pm

Photo of Noel TreacyNoel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Victim Support is an independent voluntary registered charity and is a company limited by guarantee. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform does not have a seat on the board and has had no role regarding the appointment of the board or staff of Victim Support. The Department had been de facto the main funder of Victim Support, particularly in recent years, although not its only source of income. A total of €5.5 million was made available during the last five years.

In recent years, particularly since mid-2003, tensions in the organisation gave rise to grave concerns on issues of governance, accountability for public funds, value for money and, most particularly, the delivery of services to victims of crime. A number of meetings took place with the various configurations of its board during 2003, 2004 and early 2005 with a view to developing the basis for a recovery of the organisation's service levels and stabilising governance.

In December 2004, with the co-operation of the Victim Support interim board, staff and volunteers, the Department commissioned an independent review of the state of play within the organisation and of the prospect, if any, of organisation recovery. The review report, delivered in February 2005, while praising the commitment and dedication of many of the volunteers locally, concluded that the organisation was terminally damaged and that there was little or no prospect of recovery. After careful consideration, the Minister decided that further funding of the Victim Support organisation could not be justified. Arising from the prospect of Victim Support's ongoing inability to deliver services to victims of crime, the evolution of thinking as regards victim provision generally and in light of the requirements of the EU framework decision on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings, the Minister concluded that the model of funding through the Victim Support organisation was no longer viable.

In that context, on 8 March 2005, the Minister, with the approval of the Government, established a new Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime to devise an appropriate support framework for the future and to disburse funding for victim support measures. The commission's term of office is for three years and its members are Mr. Jim McHugh, retired assistant commissioner of the Garda Síochána, chairman, Ms Nora Owen, former Minister for Justice, Mr. Seán Lowry, former head of the probation and welfare service, Mr. Michael Whelan, Gemini Consulting and Ms Marian Finucane, broadcaster.

The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform provides administrative support for the commission. Its remit includes the examination of all aspects of the provision of services for victims of crime within the criminal justice system. These provisions are currently set out in the Victims' Charter, last updated in 1999.

In addition, the commission will supervise the disbursement of funds to community and other voluntary groups providing victim services, with a particular emphasis on the funding of activities on the ground that provide direct supports for victims of crime. The commission received over 60 applications for funding in response to a public advertisement earlier in the year. It is entirely independent in its decision making and will examine each application on its merits. It has approved ten projects for funding so far this year and a number of others are under consideration.

The commission received separate applications for funding from a number of former elements of Victim Support as well as from that organisation itself, including some of the specialist services, individual branches and a larger grouping of branches that have formed a new organisation, the Federation for Victim Assistance. One of the applications came from the Mayfield branch of Victim Support.

As I have said, the commission is entirely independent in its decision making and will examine each application on its merits. At the same time, it must satisfy itself as regards the accountability of any entity making application to it and that service delivery can be assured on an ongoing basis. The commission is now providing funding support to a number of specialist services, formerly part of Victim Support, that made independent submissions for funding. These services are — or will be — provided on a national basis.

The commission had meetings with the interim board of Victim Support and with officers of the new Federation for Victim Assistance in the last few days in the context of examining their applications for funding. Among the issues discussed with both groups were governance and structures, arrangements for the delivery of services on the ground, the prospects for co-operation with other groups providing victim services and plans for future development.

A particular difficulty arises, however, in services in the Cork and Munster region. Some of the branches have been included in the Victim Support application and one is included in the Federation for Victim Assistance application. In recent days, a new application has been received from a grouping of ten branches in Cork and greater Munster which are already included in the Victim Support application but which now want to be considered separately for funding. The House will appreciate that it is difficult for the commission to be confident about governance, accountability and in particular the capacity of these groups to deliver a quality service to victims in the light of the obvious uncertainties and apparently changing allegiances of the various branches. At the same time, it is anxious to ensure that services to victims of crime are available as widely as possible, and considers that building on the undoubtedly excellent work of the volunteers at ground level is the best way to achieve this objective for the future.

We must not lose sight of the core issue, and that, of course, is the delivery of services to persons in our communities who have fallen victim to a crime. In that respect, the Minister is determined to ensure that a quality service to the victims of crime is put in place in Cork, in Munster and in all other areas of the country. The commission will reflect carefully on all the information available to it in coming to its decision on all of these applications.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.