Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the very important issue of funding for community-led organisations in Donegal, including Lifeline and iCARE. I am afraid I am at a disadvantage in that I did not know this issue was to be raised on Leaders’ Questions. As such, I do not have an up-to-date note on funding for either of the organisations but I will seek one and ensure it is passed on to the Deputy's office.

On the wider question of domestic violence, the Government has ratified the Istanbul Convention and updated our laws on domestic violence. We are increasing funding for those organisations that support men and women who are victims of domestic violence and that will continue to be the case. I am very proud to have led the Government that at long last ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, we need to make that real. We now have record levels of funding going into disability services but the funding will never be enough and there will always be more to be done and needs to be met. However, as long as we manage the economy well and look after our public finances, we will be able to make things a little bit better every year by increasing funding for organisations that work with people who have disabilities and those who are victims of gender-based violence.

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