Crime | Thurles Information

Funding For Organisations Supporting Victims Of Abuse & Crime In Tipperary.

Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee announces details of funding for organisations supporting victims of abuse and crime to mark 16 days of activism against gender based violence

18 organisations are to receive funding this year primarily for regional based domestic abuse services.
Move will fill gaps in supports identified in areas of the country and for categories of victims
Announcement coincides with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
€4.9m in extra 2022 funds for organisations supporting victims of crime also open for applications

To mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has confirmed details of extra funding for areas of the country or categories of victims not currently fully covered by support services for victims.

As part of Minister McEntee’s ‘Supporting a Victim’s Journey Plan’ to help victims and vulnerable witnesses, a mapping exercise was undertaken to identify gaps in funding and how to address them. A number of organisations were identified where additional funding would allow them to provide further services and to increase the geographical spread of support to victims of crime.

Minister McEntee said, “I’m delighted to be able to confirm these details as we mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and start the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.
In general terms the funding will increase these organisations ability to supports victims especially given the rise in those seeking help.
This will be done primarily by increasing phone line hours, emotional support, and increased court accompaniment. Most of the funding gaps identified called for increases to regional-based domestic abuse services so the geographical spread of support will be increased.
Tackling domestic, sexual and gender based crime is a priority for me and the Government. I am leading work on a new whole of government plan to tackle these awful crimes. This new plan will be the most ambitious to date and will be published early next year”.

Among the 18 organisations receiving a total of €445,000 in funding this year are Victim Support at Court, Lifeline Inishowen, Longford Women’s Link, Immigrant Council of Ireland and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Ms Noeline Blackwell of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said, “We will use this funding for a comprehensive information and awareness drive about accompaniment and support services.
We aim to build a set of resources which would allow anyone needing it to independently find information and guidance on what various aspects of court accompaniment mean, what services are provided, what a victim or the supporter of a victim should know.”

The extra funding is being provided in 2021. This is separate from increased funding recently announced under Budget 2022 for combatting domestic, sexual and gender based violence and for supporting victims of crime, which includes:

An additional €2.4m for specific awareness raising and training programmes on domestic, sexual and gender based violence (DSGBV) bringing to €5.35m the funding available for combatting domestic sexual and gender based violence.

An additional €1.1m will be used to begin putting in place a legal advice and legal aid service in court for victims of sexual violence.

An additional €1 million is being provided under the Garda Vote to provide accommodation for Divisional Protective Service Units.

The Budget 2022 allocation also includes €4.9m to support Victims of Crime.

The Department of Justice has invited applications for this funding from registered charities, voluntary community groups and other bodies which provide support services or assistance for victims of crime generally, including provision of support, information and advice on the rights of victims, and court and other accompaniment.

Minister McEntee added, “The objective is to ensure that all of these services are available to all victims who need them, to a consistently high standard and throughout the State”.

Applicants for funding must be civil society organisations and preferably a registered charity and must be returned by 5:00pm on December 6th 2021.

For further details on how to apply, please contact: fundsadmin-victims-crime@justice.ie

Court Of Appeal Rejects Murder Appeal By Patrick Quirke.

The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by Tipperary farmer Mr Patrick Quirke, against his 2019 conviction in relation to the murder of Mr Bobby Ryan, a lorry driver and DJ known as “Mr Moonlight”.

Mr Quirke is presently serving a life sentence, following a 15-week trial back in 2019, during which he had denied any involvement in Mr Ryan’s murder.

The trial had heard that he murdered his love rival Mr Ryan, in an effort to rekindle an affair with farm owner Mrs Mary Lowry.

Mr Ryan’s remains were found some two years later in 2013, after he went missing June in 2011; located in a disused underground run-off, slurry tank on Mrs Lowry’s farm.

The prosecution maintained that Mr Quirke had staged the discovery of Mr Ryan’s body, as he was about to give up his lease on the farm, fearing he would be found out.

Mr Quirke watched the proceedings by video link from Portlaoise Prison.

Revenue Officers Seize Drugs Destined For Tipperary.

Revenue officers have seized drugs at two premises in Dublin, with a street value of €159,700.

In all, the seizure contained over 7.8kg of herbal cannabis and 252 ecstasy tablets, discovered with the assistance of Revenue Customs detector dog Bailey.

The narcotics were concealed in parcels labelled as various types of herbal tea, and appear to have originated in the US, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands.

We understand that the drugs were destined for addresses in Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford.

Businesses or members of the public who may have information regarding smuggling can contact Revenue in complete confidence on Tel No: 1800 295 295.

Ministers Welcome Allocation Of Dormant Accounts Funding For Justice Initiatives.

**Minster for Justice** **Helen McEntee TD**

Minster for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Mr James Browne TD, have welcomed the allocation of funding, from the Dormant Accounts Fund, to a number of Department of Justice projects and initiatives.

Earlier today, the Department of Rural and Community Development announced that a total of €55.5 million has been allocated from the Dormant Accounts Fund to address disadvantage right across the country.

In total, approximately €10 million has been allocated to Department of Justice related projects and initiatives.

Welcoming this additional funding, Minister McEntee said,

“The funding we have been allocated will greatly assist us in the work we are doing to combat Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence, roll out our Community Safety Partnerships, support victims of crime and support vulnerable young people.
The allocation of €250,000 for the implementation of targeted crime prevention and harm-reduction recommendations contained in the Drogheda Community Safety & Wellbeing Scoping Report will support, amongst others, The Red Door project for the provision of drugs outreach work, counselling, family support, client progression pathways, Court-related and prisoner support and additional harm reduction services in the Drogheda area.”

Welcoming the substantial allocation of €5,000,000 for Youth and Community Justice services, Minister Browne said,

“I very much welcome the Dormant Accounts Fund allocation for Youth Justice services. Together with the additional €6.7m extra Exchequer funding I obtained in Budget 2022, this allows us to make a very substantial start to the implementation of the Youth Justice Strategy.
The additional funding will allow us to ensure the Youth Diversion Project service is available throughout the State by end 2022 or early in 2023. It will also fund additional work in the areas of early intervention with children at risk, family support and outreach work with harder-to-engage young people in particular.
This work is vital to help divert young people from crime and anti-social behaviour and to protect victims by reducing future offending.”

Garda Arrested On Suspicion Of Sending False Allegations To Investigators.

A male member of An Garda Síochána, has been arrested in the Munster region, accused of sending false allegations to criminal investigators, regarding their ongoing inquiries.

The member of the Garda force was placed under arrested this morning before being taken to a station in the south of the country, where he was later questioned.

The investigation we understand may be focused on anonymous letters forwarded to other investigators of serious crime. The Garda under investigation graduated from the Garda Training Centre in Templemore, Co. Tipperary in recent times and prior to his arrest was stationed within the Munster region.

In a statement via a Garda spokesperson, the arrest was confirmed as having occurred today.

The statement reads, “A male in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of alleged offences contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1976. The male is currently detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.”