Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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202. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will make resources available within her Department to support and facilitate a centre (details supplied), in view of the improving economic conditions. [34088/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Consideration of financial contributions by my Department over the period 2016 – 2018 for a second Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI 2) research project gives rise to a number of issues: the availability of funding, the prioritisation of expenditure, competing demands in the area of research and requisite public procurement considerations.

With regard to funding, I understand that the proposal for a second Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI 2) research project envisages a significant level of expenditure over a three year period by my Department and the Departments of Justice and Equality, Health, and Education and Skills, with some €230,000 over the three years being sought from my Department. Apart from the funding of existing commitments relating to the Growing Up in IrelandStudy, my Department has only a very limited commissioned research budget. The majority of this budget has been committed for 2016, 2017 and 2018.

My Department has recently ascertained from the Child and Family Agency that priority of relevant expenditure by it, at present, is aimed at enhancing its business intelligence around Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence in order to support the planning and commissioning of services. To this end, the Agency is working with funded service provider organisations to implement standard data gathering and reporting mechanisms and address data quality issues.

In implementing its obligations under both the Istanbul Convention and commitments under the Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, the Agency advises that it will be looking at how to address specific research and evidence needs to inform future commissioning and to support measurement of outcomes.

Importantly, there are public procurement considerations, and it remains the case that any commissioned research funded by my Department is subject to a procurement process on foot of a call under our funded research programme or similar, and that it is done in line with Departmental research priorities.

My Department has sought the views of the Child and Family Agency regarding the degree to which it would view a repeat of SAVI as assisting the Agency in the discharge of its functions and also its priorities in terms of supporting policy and practice development in this area.