Funding for One in Four
Rabbitte alleged that the Government’s account of its dealings with One in Four was inconsistent and questioned cuts to its services. The Taoiseach said funding had been provided, counselling costs were still under discussion, and the service remained available.
The Taoiseach again recites the details which differ each time one raises the questions. One merely has to read the record of the House.
How can the Taoiseach reconcile what he has said in the past with pulling the plug on the One in Four organisation? There was a detailed meeting with the officials on 25 March, the proceedings of which were furnished to the Department of Health and Children by Mr. Colm O'Gorman, and copied to the Taoiseach's Department on 27 March. There was never any issue taken with any line in that record of that meeting. When the Taoiseach then gets himself into trouble with collapsing the Laffoy commission, and when Colm O'Gorman makes public remarks, it is relayed to Mr. O'Gorman that he had better keep quiet – or else. He is now in a situation where he has had to put €73,000 of the money awarded to him into the organisation to keep it alive.
The Taoiseach will recall that one of the central recommendations of the Finlay report was that an independent counselling service was necessary. That is what is now being collapsed. In addition, the same Minister is terminating contracts of psychotherapists in the State service whose contracts are now running out. This is the Government that was so open-handed through Deputy Michael Woods, which is now undermining both the State service, through the national counselling service, and the One in Four organisation. This is the commitment of the State to dealing with this problem, with the Taoiseach boasting so much about his apology.
Comment on this
The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, has been stating to me again what has been stated outside the House. The Minister, his Department and the officials involved reject all of the allegations made about them regarding this matter. They have put €17 million into the national counselling service. At the meeting on 25 March the level of funding was agreed for all of One in Four's services except its counselling service.
I repeat what the Department has told me. As regards counselling costs, information about the service it intended to provide was sought from One in Four. The organisation agreed to forward this information but it was never received by the Department. There was never any agreement in place to fund that counselling service and it remained subject to negotiation. That is the factual position. The national counselling service is a very good one. To date, €17 million has been spent on it.
Comment on this
The service is in place. It is up and running. It has been funded and is continuing. Those who do not want to use it have access to private services. In cases where people had conscientious objections to using that service because of the trauma they have been through the State provided private counselling services. The meeting between Mr. O'Gorman and the Department's officials has been arranged and he can pursue the issues. There is a difference in what has been presented as facts. I can only tell Deputy Rabbitte that all of the people concerned advise me that what has been stated is factually incorrect.