Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. While I welcome the increase in Tusla's budget, one must recognise it had been underfunded, and when one dishes out that money across all the various Departments, it does not account for an awful lot. Family resource centres are an integral hub of communities and are engaging with increasing numbers of people each month. Family resource centres provide an excellent service for vulnerable children. The average cost of dealing with a child in its services is extremely low, at approximately €2,200, and when one compares that with the prison system, it provides very good value for money. However, its core funding since 2011 has been cut by approximately 17%. How will the Minister ensure the operational funding for the family resource centre national programme is excluded from the commissioning process? How will he prioritise the reduction in child poverty in Ireland with regard to the family resource centres?

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