THE IRISH Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture has been forced to cut its doctors' hours by 50 per cent and has lost 12 per cent of its staff in the past nine months due to a funding shortfall.
With waiting lists of up to a year for its psychotherapy service for torture victims, and uncertainty over its budget for 2009, its director Fr Michael Begley said the centre could face further cutbacks in the coming year.
The centre is the only specialist centre in Ireland providing medical and psychological services to torture victims, and has treated about 900 people since it was established in 2001.
It operates under the auspices of Spirasi, a Dublin-based group that offers language, computer and integration programmes to asylum seekers and refugees.
Fr Begley, a clinical psychologist, said changes this year to an EU grant scheme meant the CCST was running at a loss for the first time since it opened in 2001.
It had cut its doctors' hours by 50 per cent since March, while waiting lists for its psychotherapy services were running to one year.
"This year we have had to tragically reduce services because the funding we get from the HSE is very much tied to our local health office, so we have to prioritise people from the Dublin northeast area firstly," he said.
Fr Begley said the centre had yet to receive confirmation of its funding for 2009 from the HSE.
"Despite international studies showing the value of the work, it has been very difficult to get adequate support from the Department of Health here.
"Last year, I had 28 different meetings with officials from the department or the HSE," said Fr Begley. "And while all the officials I've dealt with have been very cordial and welcoming, the end result is that, going into 2009, I don't know what my budget will be for this service for the most vulnerable people you could possibly imagine," he added.
Clients are referred to the centre either by GPs or area medical officers, or by solicitors who request a medico-legal report for an individual as part of the asylum determination process. Medical assessments are also carried out for State agencies deciding on applications for refugee status.
Fr Begley also said the HSE funding of €107,000 for torture care had not increased since 2001, despite rising costs and client numbers. Last year the centre redirected a further €100,000 from its HSE-funded health promotion scheme to make up some of the shortfall in torture care.
"Whereas a lot of attention is drawn to the human rights record of the Irish Government abroad, insufficient attention is given to such important supports that we're actually doing in our own country. It's really regrettable that we're not giving more attention to helping people on our doorsteps," Fr Begley said.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said the local office could not comment on funding for individual groups until its own allocation had been confirmed. A decision on Spirasi's grant is expected shortly.