Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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650. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of additional ring-fenced funding to be provided to domestic violence services under Budget 2021 in order that services can respond adequately to increased incidence of domestic violence through Covid-19 and beyond; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37133/20]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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659. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the additional ring-fenced funding to be provided by her Department to domestic violence services in Budget 2021 in order that services can respond adequately to the shadow pandemic of domestic violence through Covid-19 and beyond; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36347/20]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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675. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the exact amount of ring-fenced funding across all relevant Departments to be provided to domestic violence services in Budget 2021; and the additional funding that is being allocated in order that services can respond adequately to the shadow pandemic of domestic violence through Covid-19 and beyond. [36881/20]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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680. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of additional ring-fenced funding to be provided to domestic violence services in Budget 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36948/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 650, 659, 675 and 680 together.

Combatting domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a priority for this Government and for me as Minister for Justice.

To date my Department has provided €327,590 in Covid specific funding to help organisations working to support victims of crime, including victims of domestic abuse and I have secured an additional €400,000 to continue this Covid specific support in 2021.

This Covid specific funding has provided additional resources, support, enforcement and services to key organisations in the area of domestic, sexual and gender based violence in response to the increased demand for services during the pandemic. This support is being maintained and increased in budget 2021.

As the Deputies may be aware, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency under the aegis of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (DSGBV) and is the primary funder of organisations that deliver frontline services. 

In relation to the more general funding for victims of crime, my Department provides funding to promote and assist the development of support services to victims of crime, which includes victims of domestic and sexual crime. In 2020 this funding amounted to €1.9 million and is being increased under Budget 2021 to €2.1 million.

In addition, funding of just over €2 million euro has been allocated to my Department under budget 2021 to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and I have secured an additional €2.3 million to implement the O’Malley recommendations to support vulnerable victims, as set out in Supporting a Victims Journey - A plan to help victims and vulnerable witnesses in sexual violence cases, which I published last month.