Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 593: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will reconsider the funding application submitted by the Missing in Ireland Support Service for €71,000 to establish, staff and operate a helpline for missing persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27941/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 436 to 443, inclusive and 445 and 446 together which were answered on 20 June 2006 in which I advised that I had established a new Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime in March 2005 to devise an appropriate support framework for victims of crime into the future and to disburse funding for victim support measures.

I take it that the request to me to reconsider the funding application submitted by the Missing in Ireland Support Service for €71,000 as mentioned in the question refers to the funding application made by that organisation to the Commission for the Support for Victims of Crime rather than to any application made to me or my Department.

I am advised that the Commission received a funding application in April 2005 from Missing in Ireland Support Service for €71,600 to establish, staff and operate a helpline for missing persons. After careful consideration of the application the Commission decided to offer funding of €25,000. However, this offer was rejected by the Missing in Ireland Support Service. No request was made to the Commission from Missing in Ireland Support Service to reconsider the funding allocated in 2005. The funding allocation from the Commission for 2005 was fully allocated in that year. It should be borne in mind in this context that the Commission is charged with funding support services for victims of crime, and that, while some persons who are missing are crime victims, most are not.

I am also advised that the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime in April, 2006 invited applications from organisations providing services to victims of crime, for a funding allocation for 2006. It was open to the Missing in Ireland Support organisation to make such an application. I am advised that no application has been received by the Commission to date.

I understand that although the closing date for applications has passed, if the Missing in Ireland Support Service organisation wished to make a late application and make a case for the allocation of some funding for 2006 from the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime, any such application would be carefully considered on its own merits by the Commission.

I should point out that the Commission is entirely independent in the performance of its functions and I am sure that the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment or intervene in any way with a decision taken by the Commission in relation to the allocation of funding.

As indicated in an earlier Parliamentary Question No. 701 of 23 March 2006 it remained open to Missing in Ireland Support Service to make an application to my Department for assistance if it so wished. As I understand it no request for funding by Missing in Ireland Support Service has been made to my Department to date. If my Department is approached with a good business case and tight financing proposals, the proposal will be carefully considered on its merit.