Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I am taking the Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. I thank Senator Norris for raising this issue and welcome the opportunity to set out the position on the matter.

The service in question is funded by the HSE, by Meath County Council and also by a vigorous local fund-raising initiative. I compliment the organisers of the service in this regard. I understand the service has a total of nine staff and provides services to a maximum of five women and their children at any point in time. Last year the HSE provided €408,000 towards the cost of running this service. In the context of the statutory requirement on the HSE to live within its financial allocation, the executive is reviewing the level of funding for this and other services. Currently, more than 100 local organisations are funded by the HSE in County Meath.

In regard to the Meath women's refuge and support services, the executive also wishes to discuss the service delivery model for the future. I am advised this service is primarily focused on providing a residential facility and that the HSE wishes to re-orient its services to operate on an outreach approach while at the same time recognising that cases can arise where a residential intervention is required.

I understand a meeting has already taken place between officers of the Health Service Executive and the representatives of Meath women's refuge and support services and that a further meeting is scheduled for 23 June. The level of funding and model of service delivery fall to be discussed in the course of this process. This dialogue between the HSE and Meath women's refuge and support services is the best way to take the issue forward. I am confident that, given constructive engagement, it will be possible to build on the success of Meath women's refuge and support services and address the genuine concerns of the executive about its statutory requirement to live within its allocation and provide a state-of-the-art service in this important area of social provision.

I understand the Health Service Executive is putting in place a system of service level agreement. This will be an important next step in establishing robust governance arrangements in the case of this service and across the entire range of services funded by the HSE. In the current economic climate it is more important than ever to ensure that while services are protected, we also achieve value for money and that services are underpinned by the best possible governance arrangements. The best way forward appears to be on the basis of constructive engagement and I am confident progress can be made on this basis.