Prior to last year's election, I attended a briefing at Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre where I was humbled to hear about the invaluable work it does on a shoestring budget for people in need in this community. I had a positive engagement with the staff there and I commend them on their fantastic work in supporting the local community in Carrigtwohill and the surrounding areas of east Cork. Their work is vital for addressing social exclusion, poverty, assisting marginalised groups and providing equal opportunities to all. Their work underlines the need for family resource centres and other community sector organisations to be protected and adequately resourced in order that they can continue to provide these invaluable services. An example of this can be seen in the €166,400 the centre received in core funding in 2024, which pales into insignificance when stacked against the average of €6,388 per week or €332,000 it costs the State annually to keep a child in care. The centre can point to at least four cases where it prevented children from going into care in 2024. The value of this one piece of work is in excess of €1.3 million. Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre is just one of 120 family resource centres in the country. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the State to replicate the work of family resource centres, certainly in purely financial terms. This work should be valued appropriately. The Minister quoted a figure of €160,000 as a minimum core funding currently allocated to all family resource centres. To be honest, it is simply not enough. Shortfalls in funding hinder the centres' ability to meet the growing demand for their services. The challenges families face have become more complex and widespread, especially with the ongoing cost-of-living pressures and the housing crisis. As a result, the demand for family resource centre services has surged, yet funding has not increased to reflect this. Fergal Landy, the CEO of the Family Resource Centre National Forum, has lobbied for a minimum of €250,000 in core funding for each family resource centre in the programme. This is a more realistic figure than has been costed. When family resource centres are properly funded, they can create lasting positive changes in communities by providing early intervention and preventative services that reduce long-term social costs. Investing in family resource centres can lead to significant cost savings for broader social services by reducing the need for more expensive interventions. An increase in funding would allow centres to recruit and retain qualified staff, invest in training and build an internal capacity necessary to better serve their clients. With many family resource centres operating understaffed and with limited resources, they are often stretched to breaking point, impacting the quality and accessibility of the services. The Minister has also allocated an additional €800,000 to allow for the expansion of family resource centre programmes in budget 2025. While the funding and additional five family resource centres are welcome, the reality is we will have five additional underfunded family resource centres going forward. Quality over quantity needs to be prioritised here and I would appreciate if the Minister could give this issue urgent attention. I normally do not read from scripts but I wanted to get it right. I have met people in many family resource centres in my time in east Cork and each and every one of them tells me the same problem. They are overstretched and overburdened with the demand for services. They just do not have the funding to cover services. I know there are people coming out of UCC and giving their time for free to counsel young kids in difficulty. I have met families that have gone through these centres that are an amazing achievement and are something we should really respect. That is why I raised this issue here tonight. I look forward to the Minister of State's answer.

Sentiment score: 0.19

I thank the Minister of State. He said the Department's work in this area is administered by Tusla. There are other trains of funding but the centres do not have the resources to try to pull money from each and every angle. I cannot stress strongly enough that the core funding must be increased. It is as simple as that. That will give the resource centres the ability to fully function. The Minister of State is well aware of the issues. We see a lot of instances in this country where something is working right but, if it breaks down, there is no support and then those services are lost. He knows that as well as I do. We have seen how beneficial these centres are in the communities they serve. If we are going on cost alone, I mentioned a figure of €1.3 million. That is a massive saving to the State but we would not look at it as just that. The €1.3 million represents four people who did not go into State care and instead could live a normal life with the support of the resource centre in question. I appeal to the Minister of State to keep this matter front and centre. I will revisit it in due course to see whether we can find any way of increasing the provision. If we lose these services, we will be in deep trouble. We have the most amazing people in these centres who are fully committed to this work. I have met most of them, from management through to the various staff. The welcome one gets comes with a cup of tea or coffee and a scone when one goes in and sits down to meet the people involved. The atmosphere there is electric and, at times, mesmerising. People do not realise how good a service it is until it is gone. That is putting it very politely. I appeal to the Minister of State to keep this issue front and centre. I will follow up on it with parliamentary questions to see whether we can build on what is something special. Instead of letting it wither, let us try to make it grow.

Sentiment score: 0.11