Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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876. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of survivors of institutional abuse she has met with during the past three months; her plans to reply to the questions posed by these survivors; and the reason survivors are not permitted to write to the Board to query their applications. [20317/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I met with representatives of the group Right to Peace on 22nd April having previously met with them in December 2014. A range of issues were discussed at the meeting and I will be writing to the representatives to follow-up on a number of issues shortly.

Section 20(7) of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act, 2012 provides that decisions of Caranua on applications made to it are made by the chief executive officer or staff member to whom the chief executive officer delegates the function. There is an independent appeals officer to whom applicants can appeal decisions made by Caranua on their applications.

Caranua is an independent statutory body whose Board is responsible for the performance of its functions.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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877. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of funding allocated to Towards Healing for provision of counselling services for survivors of institutional abuse. [20319/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Towards Healing, which is funded by the Catholic Church, provides counselling and related support to survivors of institutional, clerical or religious abuse and their families. My Department has no function in relation to this service and provides no funding to it.

As the Deputy may be aware Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with Towards Healing for the provision of counselling services to former residents who wish to continue receiving counselling via Towards Healing. The arrangement covers those former residents who are eligible for support from Caranua and who have received 80 counselling sessions from Towards Healing and whose further counselling needs have been recommended by an independent review panel to be clinically appropriate. Caranua will pay Towards Healing the agreed costs of the counselling services received by eligible former residents.