Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the fact the Minister visited the service in January 2017. It was very much appreciated that the Minister took the time to go down and see the service. The service covers a vast area and includes the whole of Carlow and Kilkenny. In fact, there is an argument that Carlow should have its own women's refuge. Currently, it does not, but for various reasons, including family reasons, women in Carlow should be able to stay in Carlow.

The question is specifically on the counselling budget. To date, Amber has been running a fantastic service. I cannot say enough good things about the service being run. Women do not come from a domestic violence situation and wake up the next morning for everything to be okay again. They have to go through a process and counselling is a key part of it. Obviously, children who have been affected by or who have lived in a domestic abuse situation need counselling, which is often in the form of play therapy. Currently, that is coming from a charitable organisation and there is no ring-fenced funding. I know the organisation gets funding from Tusla, but there is no ring-fenced funding for counselling.

See this speech in context