Mr. Bernard Gloster:

As I said, when we look at the FRC programme, we do not just look at it isolation and ask who has one and who does not. We look at the context of the full resource we are funding in any one area. In some areas it could be another organisation that is not in the FRC programme but doing quite similar, if not the same, work. We also look at the volume of our own staff in that area. This year we drew a line across what services are in place, and determined that what exists, exists. We now have to look at how we can bring everyone up to the same level. We have just discussed Dublin and the dearth of social work services there. In County Mayo, there is an excellent child protection, welfare and children in care service, which has been judged repeatedly so by HIQA, and there are some very good aspects. However, we must try to support the area manager there, and indeed, those on the western, southeastern and southern seaboards, to develop more family support services. If the best solution happens to be an FRC programme, we are not closed to the idea. However, we are not pursuing a specific initiative singly focused on family resource centres. We are focusing on the broader definition of family support services.

I told one of the Deputy's constituency colleagues last year that I would love to see the local authority in Mayo and other organisations coming together where they have interests in areas of disadvantage, and perhaps create a centre of a type. I would be very happy for us to fund, support and seek additional funding to put family support staff and services into such a centre. If it happens to end up being a family resource centre or something else, that is secondary, in my view, to the point of getting services into the area.