V-SAC provided support 3,720 times to 1,271 people across the different criminal courts in Ireland. Our free and confidential court accompaniment service is provided by our fully trained volunteers who gave up a total of 641 days of their time in 2021 to help victims of all types of crime when they attended court.

	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	Total
People supported	1,271	1,096	1,482	1,365	1,257	6,471
Individual contact meetings	3,720	3,248	5,435	5,427	5,352	23,182
No of active volunteers	36	46	69	46	34	60-80
No of days given by volunteers	641	662	1,417	1,202	946	4,868

Our service is available to anyone who has been a victim and/or witness of crime and is due to attend court for criminal proceedings. V-SAC does not discriminate on gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, race, membership of the Traveller community and people in receipt of housing assistance. We also support children and vulnerable adults who are victims of, or witnesses, to crime.

To book in with with V-SAC for support contact 01-872-6785 or email info@vsac.ie.

The board of directors at Victim Support at Court (V-SAC) are looking for expressions of interest from individuals with relevant experience who are looking to become directors of a vibrant and growing charity.

Victim Support at Court(V-SAC) is the only recognised specialist voluntary service in Ireland dedicated solely to court accompaniment for victims of crime, their families and other witnesses. We are at the forefront of delivering a high-quality court accompaniment service within the Irish Judicial System and are currently piloting our second expansion project which will help V-SAC towards becoming a national service.

In line with current legislation, V-SAC directors are unpaid but vouched out-of- pocket expenses will be re-imbursed. V-SAC board meetings are held remotely and in person in Dublin.

DUTIES OF DIRECTORS:

The duties of Directors include:

• Continuing the commitment by V-SAC to good governance, inclusion and to maintaining the highest of ethical standards
• Attendance at monthly board meetings
• Monitoring the performance of V-SAC especially against its strategic priorities and the annual work plan agreed by the Board
• Leading on specific tasks or strategic objectives as delegated by the Board
• Development of policy in relation to the above areas or others, as required
• Willingness to serve on ad hoc subcommittees as required

Time commitment: 2-4 hours per month, approx.

V-SAC welcomes expressions of interest from potential directors with expertise or high

level experience of the following skills:

 

• Communications (Media and Public Relations training).
• Human Resource Management.
• Relevant financial skills – ideally a qualified accountant.
• Strategic planning, risk management, policy preparation and fundraising skills will also be looked at favourably.

V-SAC is committed to the principles of diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity. We welcome submissions from appropriately qualified candidates from all backgrounds.

Expressions of interest may be made in confidence to the Chairperson at chair@vsac.ie. Please submit a curriculum vitae and a brief statement outlining your interest and relevant experience before 12pm on Monday 28^th March.

Are you interested in volunteering with Victim Support at Court (V-SAC)? We are expanding our services into Galway and Mayo courts. Volunteers are extremely important to the support that we give to victims and witnesses and we welcome volunteers from every walk of life.

For information about the role of court accompaniment volunteer, please click here.

Please apply online by clicking here.

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, launched V-SAC’s 3-year strategic plan at a virtual event on 7^th April 2021 at 11.30am which was attended by Judges, Gardaí, other support agencies and Courts Services personnel. V-SAC’s plan includes the continued expansion of its court accompaniment service into areas where little or no court accompaniment service is currently available.

For full details of the Stategic Plan, click the link below:

V SAC Stategy 2021-2023 – Final

Noelle Fitzsimons, V-SAC’s longest serving volunteer, was awarded the 2020 Community Hero Award as part of The Wheel’s 2020 Charity Impact Awards. Congratulations from everyone in V-SAC! Noelle has given up so much of her time over the past 3 decades to providing much needed support to victims of all types of crime when they came to court. To read the story about Noelle’s time volunteering, click the link below.

https://www.wheel.ie/sites/default/files/media/file-uploads/2020-12/Charity%20Impact%20Awards%20Programme%202020%20Online.pdf

If you have any concerns regarding your upcoming trial during COVID-19 restrictions please contact the investigating Garda.

V-SAC staff can be contacted by phone or email if you have any queries regarding our court accompaniment service during this time.

Criminal Courts of Justice Coordinator –
Phone: (085) 8780838
Email: ccjcoordinator@vsac.ie

Regional Coordinator –
Phone (085) 860 7739
Email: info@vsac.ie

General Manager –
Phone (087) 288 5521
Email: manager@vsac.ie

For regular updates on all the courts during this time please click on the link below.

https://www.courts.ie

All V-SAC staff and volunteers want to wish you well. Stay safe.