In April of 2011 the RCNI were informed that 100% of HSE funding would terminate. In its place the HSE proposed a tender process for work it sought to have progressed. The First tender process was substandard and was terminated. The second tender process is ongoing.
The Minister's office has confirmed today that the funding initially extended to the end of July will now be further extended. The Minister had acted to halt the closure of the RCNI after a HSE decision to end all funding at the end of May this year. The RCNI look forward to learning more about the outcome of the Minister’s review. We will then need to consider what implications these have for the organisation and the rape crisis sector. See RCNI Press Release for more. (29 July 2011)
The RCNI are a lead agent in creating transformation in Ireland towards addressing sexual violence. Our role remains critical. The RCNI, along with the Domestic Violence Network SAFE Ireland, have a vital role in building the national capacity of local service providers to deliver best-practice, efficient responses. This is essential within the context of a continually fragmented HSE structure which lacks dedicated expertise in Domestic and Sexual violence responses.
Ineffective action on domestic and sexual violence, which fails to recognise the complexity of the issues involved and which fails to link up across a range of policy areas simultaneously enables the perpetration of domestic and sexual violence.
The HSE has informed RCNI and SAFE Ireland that all of our core funding will terminate, in its entirety, on June 30th 2011. As a result, the RCNI Board has had no choice but to implement a major downsizing of the RCNI, effective from May 30th 2011. 3 RCNI posts are on notice of redundancy effective May 30th and the three remaining posts have part-time funding for some months at which point the RCNI will have to close if no further funding is available.
The HSE have put in place a tender process of sorts to use an undisclosed amount of the funding which has been previously the two network’s core funding, to seek expressions of interest to progress HSE work. The 2 programmes of work are problematic and betray a lack of expertise and capacity on the part of the HSE. In addition the HSE withdrew two of the stated programmes from the expression of interest at the last minute, thus effectively jettisoning the gold standard data collection system (whose development the HSE has part-funded for the past 7 years) which they are to replace with a paper form system independently assessed as delivering ‘unreliable, inaccurate, incomplete and therefore misleading information’ (Dr Maureen Lyons).
What you can do about it?
Action is urgent as there are key decisions being made very quickly
Immediate Actions sought by RCNI
Rape Crisis Network Ireland and Safe Ireland seek reversal of decision by HSE to retain responsibility and budget line for 2 National Networks and immediate release of same to Cosc, the National Office for Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, as sought by Secretary General, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Sean Alyward, in January 2011.
Support us by:
- Immediately engaging your influence and advocate on our behalf.A particularly helpful focus at this moment in time is on influencing the Minister for Health, Dr Reilly (drjamesreilly@gmail.com or james.reilly@oireachtas.ie ) and an Taoiseach, Enda Kenny (enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie) as there is a short window of opportunity to reverse this process.See sample letter below.
- Publicising this issue.
- Write an endorsement. Send same to us (cliona@rcni.ie) , upload it onto our Facebook page or other social media outlets available to you, send it or a press release to a media outlet, send it to an elected representative or other decision maker.
- Contact politicians and other relevant decision makers and influencers and advocate on our behalf.
- ‘Like’ the RCNI Irish national information and resource centre Facebook page and follow our campaign.
- Follow @rcnireland on Twitter.
- Visit our website www.rcni.ie and find out more
For more information please ring Clíona Saidlear on 0872196447 or email cliona@rcni.ie you can also contact Fiona Neary on 087 2222009
Sample letter to Minister for Health Dr James Reilly (copy and paste into body of email):
Emails for Minister Reilly: drjamesreilly@gmail.com
minister's_office@health.irlgov.ie
james.reilly@oireachtas.ie
Dear Minister Reilly
I’m asking you to directly intervene in the HSE’s scrapping of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland’s data collection programme. The HSE is replacing it with an internal, inadequate, collection method. The RCNI’s data has been used to inform Government policy and utilised by over 100 NGOs. Clearly faulty data will have far-reaching consequences.
You’ve seen the inadequacy of HSE data collection, leading to the move to the INMO method of counting patients on trolleys. The HSE’s decision puts lives in danger. The major consequence of poor data collection is persistent violence, increased harm to victims and potentially death. Please intervene.
I’m asking you to directly intervene in the HSE’s scrapping of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland’s data collection programme. The HSE is replacing it with an internal, inadequate, collection method. The RCNI’s data has been used to inform Government policy and utilised by over 100 NGOs. Clearly faulty data will have far-reaching consequences.
You’ve seen the inadequacy of HSE data collection, leading to the move to the INMO method of counting patients on trolleys. The HSE’s decision puts lives in danger. The major consequence of poor data collection is persistent violence, increased harm to victims and potentially death. Please intervene.
Yours Sincerely
Why does the RCNI matter?
Sexual Violence remains prevalent in Ireland. Addressing sexual violence to ensure an appropriate response for survivors of sexual violence and in preventing its occurrence involves many different professionals, individuals and agencies playing their part in a coordinated manner. The RCNI have been and remain a lead agent in creating transformation in Ireland towards addressing sexual violence. Our role remains critical.
The RCNI, along with the Domestic Violence Network SAFE Ireland, have a vital role in building the national capacity of local service providers to deliver best-practice, efficient responses. This is essential within the context of a continually fragmented HSE structure which lacks dedicated expertise in Domestic and Sexual violence responses.
Ineffective action on domestic and sexual violence, which fails to recognise the complexity of the issues involved and which fails to link up across a range of policy areas simultaneously enables the perpetration of domestic and sexual violence. In decision-making during the last month the HSE has clearly demonstrated that, under the guise of ‘value for money’/’reorganisation of funding’ via seeking Expressions of Interest, it is in fact implementing a ‘one-size-fits all’ approach to over 50 frontline services with distinctly different functions and service users, it is substituting ineffective, non-fit-for-purpose, tick-box exercises for nationally effective programmes of work, as executed by the two National Networks for over a decade.
Actions which are not fit for purpose undermine responses and leave women and children vulnerable to greater victimization and crime. 54 front-line service providers are in no doubt that these shoddy HSE substitutes risk putting women and children in danger and it is on this basis that they are unacceptable.
The RCNI, along with the Domestic Violence Network SAFE Ireland, have a vital role in building the national capacity of local service providers to deliver best-practice, efficient responses. This is essential within the context of a continually fragmented HSE structure which lacks dedicated expertise in Domestic and Sexual violence responses.
Ineffective action on domestic and sexual violence, which fails to recognise the complexity of the issues involved and which fails to link up across a range of policy areas simultaneously enables the perpetration of domestic and sexual violence. In decision-making during the last month the HSE has clearly demonstrated that, under the guise of ‘value for money’/’reorganisation of funding’ via seeking Expressions of Interest, it is in fact implementing a ‘one-size-fits all’ approach to over 50 frontline services with distinctly different functions and service users, it is substituting ineffective, non-fit-for-purpose, tick-box exercises for nationally effective programmes of work, as executed by the two National Networks for over a decade.
Actions which are not fit for purpose undermine responses and leave women and children vulnerable to greater victimization and crime. 54 front-line service providers are in no doubt that these shoddy HSE substitutes risk putting women and children in danger and it is on this basis that they are unacceptable.
The RCNI:
- Work to prevent sexual violence.
- Raise capacity and standards across service delivery for survivors of sexual violence and their supporters.
- Gives voice to survivors whose experiences of sexual violence are silenced and denied.
- Expertly record and analyse information uniquely available to us and make it public.
- Improve access for survivors to appropriate services to meet changing needs.
- Inform responses to sexual violence.
- Share gold standard capacity with others in Ireland and internationally.
- Lead change on the basis of evidence.
- Work in partnership at local, regional, national and international level, with the public, private, academic and not for profit sectors.
- Model excellence in governance and accountability.
- Hold public sector agencies and government to account and deliver solutions.
- Provide evidence base to support and inform work across 6 government departments and over 100 NGOs.
- Raise funding for and commission groundbreaking research.
- Constantly innovate to harness new opportunities and technologies towards improving survivors’ experience.
- RCNI member centres provide services to more child survivors of sexual violence than any other non governmental agency (72 children accessed services in 2009).
- The RCNI data collection system is now being used in Scotland and is actively being considered in other countries across Europe.
- Through our data we can see that our services are Ireland’s largest NGO providers of specialist counselling for male survivors of sexual violence and male supporters of survivors (206 male survivors and 54 male supporters accessed RCNI member centre counselling in 2009).
- The RCNI is the longest serving continuous member of the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Woman.
- The RCNI drafted the national guidelines on Public Awareness Raising on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
- The RCNI has driven improvement and innovation in Sexual Assault Treatment Unit availability and standards through national committees for almost a decade.
- The RNCI has long been the lead NGO in progressing justice for victims of sexual violence.
- Oh and PS - we’re great value for money!
Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) is a specialist information and resource centre on rape and all forms of sexual violence with a proven capacity in strategic leadership. The RCNI role includes the development and coordination of national projects including expert data collection, supporting Rape Crisis Centres to reach best practice standards, using our expertise to influence national policy and social change. We are the representative, umbrella body for our member Rape Crisis Centres who provide free advice, counselling and support for survivors of sexual abuse in Ireland.
Rape Crisis Network Ireland, The Halls, Quay Street, Galway, Ireland
Registered in Dublin, Ireland Company Reg.: 363350 Charity No.: 13236
091 563676
091 563677
Registered in Dublin, Ireland Company Reg.: 363350 Charity No.: 13236
