Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I thank the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for attending personally as it is essential he addresses this matter urgently if funds already committed to St.Munchin's family resource centre in Limerick are not to be lost. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has committed €500,000 for the project in this year's allocation while the Family Support Agency has approved €161,000 to replace the inadequate facilities at the centre with a larger, updated premises appropriate to its needs. The centre applied for capital grant assistance under the equal opportunities child care programme for 2006, but received a letter indicating it was unsuccessful under the first tranche of funding. However, the letter referred to a review of remaining applications and the hope that the Minister would announce further projects in 2005. I urge the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to approve this vital project for the sake of the people who live in this RAPID area in Limerick city.

I have a letter from the administrative officer of the social policy and housing section of Limerick City Council which indicates in clear terms that Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government funding is subject to securing money from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The letter states:

I refer to my letter dated 2nd June 2004 confirming a contribution of €500,000 from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government towards the development of a Family Resource Centre at Clonconnane Road.

As previously advised, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has stipulated that this funding is subject to verification that the outstanding amount required to meet the total cost of the Childcare Facility and Family Resource Centre has been obtained from other sources, namely the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

The foregoing indicates how important it is for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to provide the necessary funding this year. The requirement for funding from this source and the extremely tight space available in the current centre are the reasons this matter is so urgent.

I visited the centre recently with Oireachtas colleagues and we were amazed at the level of activity in such a confined space. The centre consists of two city council flats in Ballynanty, which is a RAPID area. It houses 12 full-time and four part-time staff as well as FÁS trainees and volunteers. It is used by approximately 500 people every week to accommodate a crèche, pre-school activity, an after-school homework club for at-risk children, adult education, literacy training, family support, intercultural activities, money advice, bereavement counselling, a drop-in centre and community library, a senior citizens' club, the preparation of meals on wheels and community meetings.

The offices and public and kitchen spaces are tiny and inaccessible to people with disabilities. Staff, voluntary board members and the community are extremely positive about the work being done at the centre, which is why they have been willing to persevere in such inadequate conditions for so long. They know that maintaining the activities of the centre helps greatly to address the many social problems and challenges in the area, but if they do not get approval this year, the project will not be able to proceed.

It is planned to knock on a phased basis the empty adjacent flats and, subsequently, those occupied by the centre and to replace them with a new centre. The flats and back garden areas have been provided by Limerick City Council which is strongly supportive of the project. The local child care committee has also recommended it. As the centre fits perfectly the integrated development model outlined by the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, who has responsibility for community affairs, there is total frustration and perplexity as to why it has not been funded. I urge the Government to engage in joined-up thinking on this project while there is time.

It has been suggested that value for money issues may be the reason the application has not been successful. As these issues were not raised with the centre, it was not given an opportunity to address them. The centre's representatives are willing to engage with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on this subject and have requested a meeting about which the Minister may have been approached by a party colleague. I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of including this project under the equal opportunities child care programme capital funding for 2005. On foot of the trouble in Limerick with justice issues, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform suggested that we needed supported community facilities to help people living in areas with difficulties of this sort. I urge the Minister to take the opportunity to provide funding for a facility which will make a significant difference to young children growing up in Ballynanty and put them on a better path than the one some of their older siblings may have taken. This is an opportunity to fulfil what the Minister stated in the media about Limerick providing such facilities for its less well-off communities.

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