Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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665. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the annual allocation to the victim support at court service in each of the past five years; the numbers of victims supported in each of those five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25408/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Victim Support at Court or V-SAC, is the only voluntary service in Ireland dedicated solely to court accompaniment for victims of crime, their families and witnesses.

Their services are free and available to anyone who has been a victim of crime. V-SAC is an independent organisation but works closely with other organisations in the criminal justice sector, in particular An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service to provide the best service possible to a victim, their family, and/or a witness in criminal proceedings.

V-SAC has a permanent presence in the Criminal Courts of Justice at Parkgate Street, Dublin, and, since 2024, an office in Cork, but the cases it handles originate from all parts of the country. It is funded on an annual basis by my Department.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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666. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he has considered putting victims support at court services in place on a statutory basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25409/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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In July 2023, the EU Commission published a proposal to revise the EU Victims’ Rights Directive. In this proposal, it is worth noting that the Victim Support at Court service was noted as a good practice example for assisting victims in Court.

There are no plans currently to put Victim Support at Court on a legislative footing. The service is working well, and a legislative basis is not considered necessary.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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667. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of officers assigned to each of the 28 victim service offices within an Garda Síochána in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25410/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Regrettably, this was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy once the information is provided.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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668. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the annual allocation in each of the past five years to victim support services (details supplied), in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25411/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Supporting all victims of crime is a priority for me as Minister for Justice.

Under Budget 2025, €3,574,000 was allocated to promote and assist the development of support services to victims of crime. This funding enables the provision of services supporting victims at different stages of the criminal justice system. This includes the provision of emotional and practical support, helplines, information and advice on the rights of victims, court accompaniment services, specialised counselling services, and accompaniment to Garda interviews for those who have experienced such traumatic incidents.

In January 2024 Cuan, the DSGBV Agency, was established. Cuan is committed to tackling DSGBV and is responsible for coordinating all Government actions set out in Zero Tolerance, and for the provision of funding to frontline organisations that support victims of DSGBV.

In relation to the specific information sought, I have referred the Deputy's question regarding the annual allocation to the Dublin Rape Crisis 24 hour helpline, Women's Aid Domestic Abuse 24 hour helpline, and Men's Aid confidential National Support line to Cuan, as this falls within their budget.

The information relating to the Crime Victims Helpline and the National Missing persons Helpline is provided in the tables below.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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669. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will review the operation of Section 8 'Information Regarding Investigations and Criminal Proceedings' of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 to ensure that the rights of victims under this section are applied in a consistent manner and to ensure that the provisions meet the needs of victims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25412/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 transposes Article 6 of EU Directive 2012/29/EU (‘the Victims Directive’) establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. Section 8 of the Act relates to a victim’s right to receive information about their case.

In July 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive amending the Victims Directive which is still the subject of ongoing negotiations between the Council and the Parliament. Notably, the Commission proposal does not include any proposed amendments to Article 6.

While no review is currently being undertaken or planned nationally, once negotiations at EU level are finalised, officials in my Department will, as a matter of standard practice, review our victims’ rights legislation and policies during the transposition process.

Officials in my Department are also raising the issue highlighted by the Deputy with An Garda Síochána.