Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Prior to last year's election, I attended a briefing at Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre where I was humbled to hear about the invaluable work it does on a shoestring budget for people in need in this community. I had a positive engagement with the staff there and I commend them on their fantastic work in supporting the local community in Carrigtwohill and the surrounding areas of east Cork. Their work is vital for addressing social exclusion, poverty, assisting marginalised groups and providing equal opportunities to all.

Their work underlines the need for family resource centres and other community sector organisations to be protected and adequately resourced in order that they can continue to provide these invaluable services. An example of this can be seen in the €166,400 the centre received in core funding in 2024, which pales into insignificance when stacked against the average of €6,388 per week or €332,000 it costs the State annually to keep a child in care. The centre can point to at least four cases where it prevented children from going into care in 2024. The value of this one piece of work is in excess of €1.3 million.

Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre is just one of 120 family resource centres in the country. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the State to replicate the work of family resource centres, certainly in purely financial terms. This work should be valued appropriately.

The Minister quoted a figure of €160,000 as a minimum core funding currently allocated to all family resource centres. To be honest, it is simply not enough. Shortfalls in funding hinder the centres' ability to meet the growing demand for their services. The challenges families face have become more complex and widespread, especially with the ongoing cost-of-living pressures and the housing crisis. As a result, the demand for family resource centre services has surged, yet funding has not increased to reflect this. Fergal Landy, the CEO of the Family Resource Centre National Forum, has lobbied for a minimum of €250,000 in core funding for each family resource centre in the programme. This is a more realistic figure than has been costed.

When family resource centres are properly funded, they can create lasting positive changes in communities by providing early intervention and preventative services that reduce long-term social costs. Investing in family resource centres can lead to significant cost savings for broader social services by reducing the need for more expensive interventions. An increase in funding would allow centres to recruit and retain qualified staff, invest in training and build an internal capacity necessary to better serve their clients. With many family resource centres operating understaffed and with limited resources, they are often stretched to breaking point, impacting the quality and accessibility of the services.

The Minister has also allocated an additional €800,000 to allow for the expansion of family resource centre programmes in budget 2025. While the funding and additional five family resource centres are welcome, the reality is we will have five additional underfunded family resource centres going forward. Quality over quantity needs to be prioritised here and I would appreciate if the Minister could give this issue urgent attention.

I normally do not read from scripts but I wanted to get it right. I have met people in many family resource centres in my time in east Cork and each and every one of them tells me the same problem. They are overstretched and overburdened with the demand for services. They just do not have the funding to cover services. I know there are people coming out of UCC and giving their time for free to counsel young kids in difficulty. I have met families that have gone through these centres that are an amazing achievement and are something we should really respect. That is why I raised this issue here tonight. I look forward to the Minister of State's answer.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Buckley for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond. As a former board member of the Cara Phort Family Resource Centre in my home village of Ballynacarrigy, I know first-hand the work these family resource centres undertake. As Deputy Buckley has outlined so eloquently regarding the resource centres in his own constituency, they really do invaluable work in the communities they serve.

In April 2024 the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth announced €1.5 million in additional funding for family resource centres. When I was a Government backbencher, I advocated quite forcefully for the need for additional funding for resource centres. The purpose of the allocation was to bring the core funding of the family resource centre programme members to a new base level of €160,000 in 2025 and to immediately provide additional funding for 2024 to the lowest-funded centres. The funding was intended to allow the centres to increase their staffing complements in some cases and to support the pivotal role the centres play in many communities. Some 54 centres around the country benefitted from this measure. Any future increases to core funding across the programme will be built off this new level.

The Minister, Deputy Foley, is aware the family resource national forum has expressed a desire for core funding of €220,000 to €250,000, as Deputy Buckley has highlighted today. Its rationale will be considered when planning for any future changes to core funding. Family resource centres will benefit from any further funding awarded to section 39 and section 56 bodies for pay related costs, and this will further increase the current core funding they receive. It is important to acknowledge that core funding of more than half the programme membership was already greater than €160,000 and in many cases, significantly so.

The Minister supports the vital role played by family resource centres, which provide a comprehensive range of services tailored to individual community needs at low or no cost to many clients. As part of a range of measures aimed at reducing childhood poverty, the current programme for Government commits to working to increase funding and to expand the capacity and network of family resource centres. In the context of expansion, funding of €800,000 was secured by the Department as part of budget 2025. The commissioning unit of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will manage the selection process. Five new centres are expected to be operational by summer 2025, with core funding of €160,000 applying to each centre. Core funding is only one element of funding that family resource centres can avail of. Core funding comes from the Minister’s Department and is administered by Tusla, but many family resource centres obtain additional funding from other Departments, State agencies and private sources.

This allows them to expand the scope and reach of their services and to tailor them to the needs of their communities.

There are currently 121 family resource centres nationwide. They are usually located in disadvantaged areas and serve as vital hubs for a wide range of community activities, catering to all age groups from early childhood to senior citizens. They offer universal and targeted services, including information and support, education courses, counselling, community group development and practical assistance. They also address specific needs such as integration supports for Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants. In partnership with Tusla, family resource centres operate a prevention and early intervention approach offering support to all children and families in their community, while also targeting those most in need and those at risk of harm. In 2023, 129,305 people participated in family resource centre initiatives, highlighting their importance in fostering social inclusion and lifelong learning.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. He said the Department's work in this area is administered by Tusla. There are other trains of funding but the centres do not have the resources to try to pull money from each and every angle. I cannot stress strongly enough that the core funding must be increased. It is as simple as that. That will give the resource centres the ability to fully function. The Minister of State is well aware of the issues. We see a lot of instances in this country where something is working right but, if it breaks down, there is no support and then those services are lost. He knows that as well as I do. We have seen how beneficial these centres are in the communities they serve. If we are going on cost alone, I mentioned a figure of €1.3 million. That is a massive saving to the State but we would not look it as just that. The €1.3 million represents four people who did not go into State care and instead could live a normal life with the support of the resource centre in question.

I appeal to the Minister of State to keep this matter front and centre. I will revisit it in due course to see whether we can find any way of increasing the provision. If we lose these services, we will be in deep trouble. We have the most amazing people in these centres who are fully committed to this work. I have met most of them, from management through to the various staff. The welcome one gets comes with a cup of tea or coffee and a scone when one goes in and sits down to meet the people involved. The atmosphere there is electric and, at times, mesmerising. People do not realise how good a service it is until it is gone. That is putting it very politely. I appeal to the Minister of State to keep this issue front and centre. I will follow up on it with parliamentary questions to see whether we can build on what is something special. Instead of letting it wither, let us try to make it grow.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his honest and sincere contributions this evening. It is clear that he places a huge value, as do I, on family resource centres. The Minister is very pleased that 2025 will see the family resource centre programme expanding, with the provision of five new centres. That expansion is an imminent and very welcome development for the programme, its member organisations and the communities the new centres will serve. We must acknowledge that the previous Government brought the base level of funding up to €160,000. For the Cara Phort resource centre and the one in Athlone, that is an increase of more than €40,000 per annum in core funding, which is a most welcome development. The resource centre to which the Deputy referred is at the €160,000 level. We must acknowledge and welcome that.

However, we need to go further. I agree with him that while there are many other funding opportunities and streams, it takes time and effort for centres to access them. That effort diverts the attention of the staff away from the critical services they provide. They are working with people who are very vulnerable in their respective communities, with counselling provided right across the spectrum of age brackets, from early intervention to dealing with senior citizens. They provide an invaluable service. I would like to see the funding being made more streamlined, with a block grant given every year, in order that staff can concentrate their time and efforts on providing the services that are needed in their communities. I guarantee the Deputy that I will take on board his suggestions and relay them back to the Minister, Deputy Foley. I support what he has said. I raised my concerns in this area with the Minister in the previous Government, Deputy O'Gorman. I was pleased to see he took on board those concerns. We have increased the core funding to €160,000 but we need to build on that further. I will take what the Deputy has said this evening back to the Minister, Deputy Foley.