Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

That is interesting. I raised this issue on Leaders' Questions again a couple of weeks ago. The way the funding seems to operate with section 10, section 39 and section 56 organisations and all the private charitable status groups makes it difficult to see where an 80% increase in an area has to be met through existing funding. My understanding is the Department of Health has the funding. The agreement is 8%. It has given it to the HSE. The HSE distributes it to City of Dublin ETB, while the Department of Justice distributes it to prison links officers in the drugs task forces. The prison links and youth sections have not even got their 2009 restoration. People working in vulnerable areas are being left in vulnerable positions from the point of view of being attracted to the private sector and other areas for better wages. That has to be looked at. Will the Minister of State provide more detail on what he is doing, given the awareness the Department has now?

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