Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Stanley for raising this issue and I welcome the opportunity to clarify the Government's approach to the funding of domestic violence services around the country and in the Deputy's constituency of County Laois.

For the first time, with the establishment of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, domestic, sexual and gender-based violence service provision is under one body with clear national direction. Services can now be delivered within a wide child and family support framework and this represents a significant change to the previous service delivery model.

In 2014, €17 million in funding was provided by the Child and Family Agency by way of grant aid to 62 specialist domestic violence and sexual violence services. These include 16 rape crisis centres-sexual violence services; 44 domestic violence services, including 20 refuges; and two national networks.

In addition, funding of €2.54 million has transferred to the Department of Children and Youth Affair's Vote from the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government which, in turn, has been transferred to Tusla.

This funding was previously distributed under section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 and is for domestic violence refuge services. The purpose of this funding transfer is to ensure that the State's relationship with the domestic violence services is managed in a manner which is more coherent and adapted to the needs of service users, that is, victims of domestic violence.

In 2014, Tusla funded specialist domestic violence services in County Laois provided by Laois Domestic Abuse Services in Portlaoise. The service received €64,900 in funding from Tusla last year. As the Deputy outlined, the service involves the provision of domestic violence supports, including information, advocacy and counselling services to women experiencing, or who have experienced, domestic violence. The work of Laois Domestic Abuse Services and other community-based domestic violence services is recognised and absolutely valued.

Tusla has recently completed an initial review of domestic violence and sexual violence services in order to identify strategic priorities and set out a Tusla roadmap for sexual violence and domestic violence services. There is for the first time a consolidated national budget for these services and an opportunity for more co-ordinated and equitable provision of sexual and domestic violence services across the country.

Tusla will communicate with funded services shortly to advise on the Tusla budget and funding for 2015. Individual domestic violence service provider organisations, including Laois Domestic Abuse Service, will be contacted about their specific funding and service arrangements.

Future planning for domestic violence and sexual violence services will seek to address gaps, avoid duplication and support effective delivery of front-line services nationally.

Developments for domestic violence services in County Laois will be considered as part of Tusla's future commissioning processes. The agency has advised that population size will be one of the factors that will inform this process. Services responding to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence are being given a high priority by Government and Tusla will work closely with service providers, giving particular priority to supporting front-line services.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply and welcome the fact that for the first time, there will be one consolidated national budget because in the past, there have been difficulties in terms of how the schemes and funding are administered. The committee which oversees Laois Domestic Abuse Services raised more than €12,000 voluntarily last year.

I refer to the equalisation of funding. The Minister of State said the agency has advised that population size will be one of the factors informing the process. I welcome that and was going to raise it with the Minister of State. County Laois does not have a huge population - it is approximately 84,000 - but the service covers a large catchment area and sometimes people come from north Tipperary or west Offaly where there may be gaps in services. We should take the size of the region into account when allocating funding.

In 2011, the last year for which I have figures, County Carlow, which is a similar size to County Laois, received €134,000 while County Laois received €56,000, although the Minister of State is correct that it received €64,900 last year. By the way, I am not arguing for County Carlow's funding to be reduced. County Tipperary received €176,000 while County Longford received €124,000 in 2011. The Minister of State will be able to see the problem there and I welcome the fact population size will be taken into consideration. That is a very positive move, as is the fact there will be a consolidated fund.

The Minister of State said Tusla will communicate with funding services shortly to advise. Will he raise this in the Department and convey to the civil servants, Tusla and the funding agency that Laois Domestic Violence Service is really under pressure and is operating on a wing and a prayer? Can the funding be expedited because it now almost the end of February and Laois Domestic Violence Service had a very busy year last year and its resources are on the floor? Will the Minister of State work that out with the senior officials?

I referred to the other counties not to have their funding lowered but to illustrate the 2011 model. I welcome the move towards equalisation based on population.

Will the Minister of State raise the issue of a second full-time position in Laois Domestic Violence Service? There is only one full-time position. The co-ordinator, Ms Marna Carroll, does amazing work but there is only so much she can do. Will the Minister of State ensure this valuable service has the resources to continue to provide vital services to women in County Laois who need it? Setting up the family law centres was one of the positive things we did. They are under pressure but that is a matter for another day. The other positive thing we did was to set up these centres and we must ensure they continue. Let us hope instances of domestic violence are not on the increase and that it is a case of better reporting or that women and men are more likely to come forward. Let us ensure we provide an open door for them when they come looking for it in their hour of need.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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The Deputy made some very constructive comments and I appreciate his positivity towards what we are trying to do. His comments on the population question are appreciated. I take on board the Deputy's comments on the individual service and the need for clarity, certainty and to plan for the future. I do not think any service, in particular one that deals with such a sensitive issue as domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, should be insecure as to its future. I will take on board the Deputy's questions and get working on them to ensure the service is more confident, as it is providing an excellent service. Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.