Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, around funding for domestic violence services. I know most of the services across the country are under pressure. Demand is increasing, whether that is because people are more willing to come forward or because the incidence of domestic violence is increasing. I hope it is not the latter, but I believe there is some evidence to show that it is.

I want to raise the issue of Laois Domestic Abuse Service, based in Portlaoise, and to outline briefly the situation in which it is operating at the moment. It has one full-time and one part-time staff member, with community employment placements from time to time - there are two at present - which are welcome. In 2014 it had €64,000 in funding for the full-time position and for operational costs such as rent, travel and all other expenses. A part-time position was added on to that, which is funded by the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime. The service then raised €12,000 in voluntary funds. It is operating on a fairly tight budget, but, as of yet - I checked within the last ten minutes - it has not received a funding allocation for 2015. It has less than €1,000 left in the kitty.

The service welcomes the funding and State support it is getting. The staff are providing a marvellous service, but funding is precarious. They need that part-time position, which has been funded by the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime. They really need a full-time position and additional funding. They dealt thoroughly with 911 separate cases over the seven-year period up to the end of last year. In 2014 alone, there was 166 new cases, new women coming in the door, and 116 repeats, for want of a better term - women who had been there before.

The service is comprehensive and professional. It is provided out of a small house on the Abbeyleix road in Portlaoise, in Kellyville Court, just opposite the Garda barracks. The feedback I get is good. The service does not have funding for child counselling services and there is a related issue about children who are victims of or witness domestic violence. I had a reply from Tusla dated 4 February which covered this issue but did not actually deal with the fact that they do not receive funding for this. Tusla said that funding was provided to other agencies in the area but they are talking about children who are victims of or who witness domestic violence.

Funding for this service is very precarious at present, its workload is increasing massively and the funding for extra services such as child counselling is critical. There is a need for some certainty.

Tusla has confirmed that a new system for managing funding applications, which it calls a commissioning process, is being put in place. It has indicated that it is not in a position to manage the current system. According to my information, Tusla will basically set up a federation through which funding will be provided rather than directly through it.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter which I raise because, as a Deputy for County Laois, I am very concerned that this service is kept going. It is under severe pressure and needs modest resources. l would welcome any positive information which the Minister of State might have.

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