Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

I will be taking the adjournment on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

The national steering committee on violence against women was established following the report of the task force on violence against women in 1997. It is chaired by Deputy Fahey, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Department of Health and Children is represented on the national steering committee, as is the Health Service Executive.

The purpose of the national steering committee is to provide a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency and cohesive response to the problem of violence against women and in so doing to progress the recommendations of the task force. It is representative of a wide range of interests concerned with violence against women and has a number of objectives which include ensuring that regional and local structures are established, developing public awareness campaigns, co-ordinating and advising on the distribution of resources among the health regions and co-ordinating and advising on ongoing development of policies, including those concerning perpetrators, criminal justice intervention, services and supports.

The Government is committed to working with all interested parties, including service providers, and has undertaken a range of measures to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, to respond to the needs of victims and perpetrators and to raise awareness among the public about the dynamics of this crime. These measures can be seen across a wide range of Government policy and include legislative measures, Garda response, health services, national research and treatment programmes for perpetrators.

Funding for service provision is a key indicator of Government commitment to the issue. Funding for service provision for victims is channelled primarily through the Health Service Executive Vote. In addition, other Departments such as Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Education and Science, Social and Family Affairs, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government contribute to responding to the issue.

Funding in the health sector has risen from approximately €3.8 million in 1997 to approximately €12 million in 2005. This shows the commitment of Government and of the Department to addressing this important issue. The allocation of this funding, including to individual rape crisis centres, is now a matter for the Health Service Executive. The former health boards, now the HSE, worked closely for many years with a range of NGOs, including the rape crisis centres.

The Department of Health and Children will continue to monitor the level of investment in services for victims of sexual offences, including rape. The Tánaiste has asked the Department, together with the Health Service Executive, to undertake an analysis of the current level of service provision in this area with a view to planning future service needs. The Tánaiste has recently received this report and my Department will meet the HSE in this regard.

Recently the Tánaiste received a delegation of the relevant violence against women organisations operating dedicated frontline service responses to violence against women. The Tánaiste is considering the report presented to her at that meeting.

In keeping with the recommendations of the task force on violence against women, the HSE works through the regional planning committees to determine the needs of their localities and to co-ordinate statutory and voluntary approaches to these needs. The Health Service Executive is exploring the possibility of co-ordinating funding streams and the development of a more unified structure for violence against women services.

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