Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was planning to move on to that. Some Deputies expressed concern about the Family Support Agency. The agency has advised the family resource centres to work with two regional support agencies and to provide support and training to them. That is helpful and we expect they will better manage the types of agencies they are linking with. There has been a 5% reduction but it has not meant any closure of centres. For the most part when I meet people in the family resource centres they explain that they are continuing to provide the type of projects they have provided in recent years and I hope they will be able to continue that. The estimated outturn for the agency remains €26.465 million, a substantial budget. One of the concerns from the agency was that in the creation of the new agency, the ethos of the family resource centres and community development and family support and parenting courses might be lost. However, I have reassured the agency that we fully intend to continue with that kind of family support. Gordon Jeyes has reassured the organisation as well that we are keen to continue such a service. We have no wish to interrupt the ethos that has been so effectively established by the family resources centres.