Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views in relation to correspondence (details supplied); the funding allocated in Budget 2007 for the groups concerned; his proposals to increase the funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18209/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to review the limitations of the COSC office within his Department in view of the concerns expressed by the non-Governmental organisations; if he will meet with a delegation to discuss their concerns as expressed in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18210/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 212 and 213 together.

The Government is very committed to addressing the closely related problems of domestic violence and violence against women. I am aware that there has been some concern about the remit of the newly established COSC office. I would like to reiterate that as announced on 18 April, 2007, the remit of the office very emphatically includes violence against women. The State/Non-governmental structures already in place to deal with violence against women will continue and will be strongly supported by the new office. Prior to the establishment of the COSC, responsibility for this area within my Department was assigned to Divisions with a wide number of other responsibilities. The appointment of the Executive Director to COSC, raises the profile and the focus on this work within my Department. Responsibility for this area was further dispersed across a number of Government Departments and agencies. For the first time there is now in prospect a dedicated, resourced office at Government level, with the key responsibility to ensure the delivery of a well co-ordinated "whole of Government" response to violence against women and domestic violence.

COSC is to collaborate closely with the service providers who support victims and treat perpetrators. Among its tasks will be to: Work with Government Departments, Agencies and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the sector to ensure the delivery of a well co-ordinated service to support victims of domestic violence and violence against women; Develop and deliver awareness raising strategies to ensure that victims are aware of the availability of services in their locality and that society is made aware of the extent and impact of behaviours and crimes of domestic violence and violence against women; Develop strategies to address the issue of violence against women and domestic violence in line with best international practice; Further develop standards for service delivery and for training programmes which address domestic violence and violence against women; Put in place strategically based positive actions which work with perpetrators of domestic violence; Provide leadership and support to the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women (NSC) and its sub-committees; Continue to implement the recommendations of the 1997 Task Force on Violence against Women; Consider and where relevant facilitate the implementation of internationally established best practice throughout the sector; Work with the National Crime Council and external bodies as appropriate to establish a body of research to inform future policy directions for violence against women and domestic violence; and represent Ireland at international fora which have a remit in relation to violence against women and domestic violence.

I am happy to inform the Deputy that the Secretary General and some officials of my Department met with representatives of the non-governmental organisations working in the Violence Against Women sector last week. The recently appointed head of COSC participated in that meeting and yesterday chaired a meeting of National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women (NSC) where she provided further clarity in relation to the remit of COSC. I am informed that the meeting was held in a positive and collaborative atmosphere and that a good foundation has been laid for work into the future.

On the issue of funding, in addition to the relevant criminal justice services, my Department also funds perpetrator programmes and awareness raising campaigns. The budget for these activities has been increased ten-fold over the past five years and €2.185 million has been made available to my Department for 2007. My Department has been allocated €21m under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 specifically for the expansion of our supports to perpetrator programmes and awareness raising initiatives for violence against women. These initiatives complement the Government's existing funding for the care of victims through the health and social services and the NGOs. Funding to front-line services is provided primarily by the Department of Health and Children through the Health Service Executive. I understand that €16.5 million is allocated to the sector in 2007, an increase of over 30% on 2006 levels.

My Department has responsibility for legislative initiatives; for preventative measures, such as intervention programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence; for awareness raising measures aimed at changing society's attitude to domestic violence and violence against women; and for identifying and developing any necessary responses from the civil and criminal justice systems. In this regard my Department has provided funding to Women's Aid of €100,876 since 2002 of which €59,855.94 was provided last year for awareness-raising and research. This work will now be enhanced by the cross-governmental remit of COSC and the development of relationships with key stakeholders in the field of domestic violence and violence against women.