Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 77: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cuts in funding to the Family Support Agency community based counselling services, including genesis psych and family therapy service in Dublin 15; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that these cuts will lead to the closure of these services; if she will review this decision; if she will renew the funding of these services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3807/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Family Support Agency, under my Department, operates the Scheme of Grants to voluntary organisations providing marriage and relationship, child and bereavement counselling services. Some 600 organisations receive funding each year, including the organisation in question, which is one of 28 larger organisations that receive multi-annual funding under the scheme.

On 5 December 2011, the Government announced the funding levels being made available to my Department in 2012. As part of the national effort to address Ireland's fiscal deficit, the Family Support Agency, like all other State bodies, has been asked to make significant savings across all the programmes which it administers.

The Agency is required to achieve savings of €1.265m (12%) in 2012 on the Scheme of Grants to voluntary organisations providing marriage and relationship, child and bereavement counselling services. The Agency is acutely aware of the challenges that the reduction in funding raises for the voluntary organisations concerned and has asked the larger organisations to focus on identifying the scope for greater efficiency through reducing administration and overhead costs in order to protect the front line services.

In 2012 an allocation of €26.465m has been made to the Family Support Agency to fund its services. This includes funding of over €9.4m for the Scheme of Grants for the counselling organisations. The Agency has recently invited applications for the 2012 funding and an application form has been sent to the organisation in question.