Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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262. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to fund a multilingual domestic violence helpline. [21155/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. Ireland signed the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention)on 5th November 2015.

Tusla is working collaboratively with service provider organisations, statutory agencies and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of objectives of the Istanbul Convention. There is an obligation under the Istanbul Convention to commission a dedicated free 24 hour domestic violence helpline.

Tusla recognises the substantive work undertaken by service providers in current provision of helpline services. Two organisations currently provide a national 24 hour, seven day a week helpline service, one to victims of domestic violence and one to victims of sexual violence. The freephone helpline service currently provided to victims of domestic violence offers a translation service, in more than 100 languages, to those who require it.

Tusla is working with these organisations and other stakeholders in the context of its helpline commissioning processes, to support the availability of coordinated, accessible national domestic violence helpline services that can provide both initial contact points and facilitate integrated responses to victims of domestic violence. Accessibility and inclusiveness are also key requirements in this commissioning process.

Tusla is currently engaged with service providers around service and funding arrangements, including provision of its helpline services.

At all times the Agency’s key priority is to ensure that the needs of victims of domestic violence are being met in the best way possible and to address issues of equity in access to and outcomes from services.