Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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73. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the way she will ensure the implementation of the minimum standards outlined by the 2015 EU victims' directive in respect of adequate funding for sexual and domestic violence services. [40296/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I will shortly publish the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill to transpose the EU victims directive into Irish law.

Funding for domestic and sexual violence services is primarily a matter for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency operating under the aegis of that Department.

The Victims of Crime Office in my Department provides funding to victim support services generally and domestic and sexual violence services in particular. The bulk of the money to these two sectors is for court accompaniment of victims. In the budget for 2016 and again in the budget for 2017 I secured increases in funding for victim services generally. In 2016 the domestic and sexual violence services received increased funding and when the allocations for 2017 are finalised shortly both sectors will be granted increases also.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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74. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the actual and proportional funding allocated through health and criminal justice related to sexual and domestic violence in 2015 and 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40297/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Funding from my Department related to sexual and domestic violence is set out in the tabular statement below and relates to support for victims of crime and funding for awareness-raising activities as well as intervention programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence to reduce harm to women and children. The awareness raising funding in 2015 was provided to domestic and sexual violence service providers. The much bigger figure for awareness raising in 2016 is being paid to a creative and media buying agency, and relates to the first year of a domestic violence campaign. My intention is that years four to six of the campaign will focus on sexual violence.

Core funding for services to victims of domestic and sexual violence is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and is administered by Tusla, which has taken over this role previously exercised by the Health Services Executive. I understand that Tusla provided in the region of €15m to domestic violence services in 2015, with a figure in the region of €4m to sexual violence services in that same year. The corresponding figures for 2016 were in the region of €16.5m and in the region of €4m.