196. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the breakdown of the funding provided by her Department to crime victim support services between 2016-2021, in tabular form. [8785/22]

Helen McEntee, Minister for Justice: As the Deputy is aware from replies to his previous questions on funding, my Department provides funding to promote and assist the development of specific support services to victims of crime within the criminal justice system, which of course includes victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. 

While there are a number of organisations funded that specialise in supporting victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence, there are other services funded under the Victims of Crime Scheme that offer a wide range of support to people who become a victim of crime. 

Some of these organisations offer support to victims of any type of crime, such as the Crime Victims Helpline or Victim Support at Court, while others provide specialist services for victims of specific types of crime, such as AdViC or Support after Homicide, who work with families that have lost someone close to them as a result of a homicide. 

These services provide important information and support, such as emotional support, court accompaniment, and accompaniment to Garda interviews, to sexual assault treatment units and referral to other services. 

The information in the tables provided is the breakdown of all the services funded under the Victims of Crime Scheme, as distinct from the previous replies sent to the Deputy which focused on particular categories of services. The previous answers included payments from the Victims of Crime Scheme, as well as additional payments made to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) and Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) from the Department’s budget to combat DSGBV. 

I would also ask the Deputy to note that the figures now provided for 2021 are the final figures paid to each organisation. The Deputy will be aware that it was flagged in previous replies that the 2021 figures were, at that time, the allocated figures. 

The Deputy will also note that there are 2 tables provided in respect of 2021 funding. This is because in November of last year I provided additional funding for 18 organisations to address gaps in service provision identified on foot of a mapping exercise. The mapping exercise was undertaken to identify areas not covered by support services, both in terms of geographical gaps and categories of victims not adequately covered. The funding provided as a result of this mapping exercise is included in a separate table entitled ‘2021 Additional Funding’.

Table of Victims of crime scheme funding 2016 – 2021 can be viewed on the Oireachtas website