No extra funding for sexual assault units

NO extra money will be made available for sexual assault units this year despite a Government review which found their survival is in jeopardy due to a funding crisis.

The report, Sexual Assault Treatment Services — A National Review, launched yesterday, found three of the four units — in Cork, Dublin, Waterford and Donegal — are struggling to remain open because of funding and staff shortages. The sexual assault treatment unit (SATU) in Cork is the only unit to have guaranteed funding, secured while Cork TD Micheál Martin was health minister.

The review also found the absence of SATUs, particularly in the West and Midlands, was leading to lower reporting rates of sexual crime. To combat this, the review recommends SATUs for Galway and the Midlands at an estimated set-up cost of €320,000.