Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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169. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the aftercare supports in place for under 18s who are victims of violent crimes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38912/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Supporting all victims of crime is a priority for this Government and for me as Minister for Justice.

As the Deputy may be aware, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has statutory responsibility for child protection and welfare services, family support and educational welfare.

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

Organisations funded by my Department who provide aftercare supports specifically to children who are victims of crimes include Barnardos and CARI, while other organisations such as Advocates for Victims of Homicide (AdVIC), the Federation for Victims Assistance, Beacon of Light Counselling Centre, Support After Crime and Support After Homicide provide assistance to both children and adults. These organisations provide support and listening services, counselling services as well emotional and practical support to victims of violent crimes.

To date my Department has also provided and additional €327,590 in Covid specific funding to help organisations working to support victims of crime 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, including 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.

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.

Finally, my predecessor published a new and expanded Victims Charter in February this year. The updated charter takes account of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017, which sets out the rights of victims of crime, and seeks to assist victims of crime in locating services available to them. The charter was developed by my Department in consultation with all relevant State agencies and organisations including An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the DPP, as well a wide range of non-governmental organisations and groups representing victims themselves.

The charter sets out information on the services offered by the State as well as voluntary groups who work with victims of crime. The charter also outlines out how to get in touch with relevant services and what supports the various services can offer to victims of crime. Significantly, the charter describes the criminal justice system from the perspective of a victim of crime, so that victims can understand what to expect from their interaction with the system.

My Department is currently in the process of developing a new website for the victims charter which is due to be launched early next year. The current website is accessible at www.victimscharter.ie.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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170. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the aftercare supports in place for adults who are victims of violent crimes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38913/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Supporting all victims of crime is a priority for this Government and for me as Minister for Justice.

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

Organisations funded by my Department who provide aftercare supports to adults who are victims of violent crimes include Advocates for Victims of Homicide (AdVIC), the Crime Victims Helpline, the Federation for Victims Assistance, Beacon of Light Counselling Centre, Support After Crime and Support After Homicide among others. These organisations provide support and listening services, counselling services as well emotional and practical support to victims of violent crimes.

To date my Department has also provided and additional €327,590 in Covid specific funding to help organisations working to support victims of crime 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, including 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 under budget 2021.

As the Deputy 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 addition, to the funding already referenced, 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.

Finally, my predecessor published a new and expanded Victims Charter in February this year. The updated charter takes account of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017, which sets out the rights of victims of crime, and seeks to assist victims of crime in locating services available to them. The charter was developed by my Department in consultation with all relevant State agencies and organisations including An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the DPP, as well a wide range of non-governmental organisations and groups representing victims themselves.

The charter sets out information on the services offered by the State as well as voluntary groups who work with victims of crime. The charter also outlines out how to get in touch with relevant services and what supports the various services can offer to victims of crime. Significantly, the charter describes the criminal justice system from the perspective of a victim of crime, so that victims can understand what to expect from their interaction with the system.

My Department is currently in the process of developing a new website for the victims charter which is due to be launched early next year. The current website is accessible at www.victimscharter.ie.