Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 126: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the locations of the 75 family and community resource centres; the number of extra family and community resource centres he plans to open in 2005; the locations of the new centres; if he expects to meet the overall target of 100 centres by the end of 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11915/05]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 130: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the family support services which the family support agency offers; the number of families who have availed of these services since the agency was established; the success of these services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11913/05]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 135: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who are employed in family mediation offices; the number of families who have availed of the service; the location of these offices; his plans to extend the network of family mediation service offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11912/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 126, 130 and 135 together.

The Family Support Agency, which was established in May 2003, brings together family support programmes and services introduced by the Government in recent years. The agency's main functions are to: provide a family mediation service throughout the country; support, promote and develop the provision of marriage and relationship counselling services, child counselling services and bereavement support for families; and support, promote and develop the family and community services resource centre programme. The agency also has a responsibility to undertake or commission research, to advise, inform and assist me as Minister for Social and Family Affairs and to promote and disseminate information about family related issues.

The agency launched its first strategic plan in May 2004 which outlined its strategic priorities for the period 2004-06. In 2005 almost €25 million was made available to the Family Support Agency to fulfil its strategic priorities.

The Family Mediation Service, FMS, is administered directly by the Family Support Agency. It is a free, professional, confidential service that enables couples who have decided to separate to reach agreement on issues related to their separation. It assists couples to address the issues on which they need to make decisions including post-separation living arrangements, finances and parenting arrangements to enable children to have an ongoing relationship with each parent. The benefits of family mediation, as a non-adversarial approach to resolving issues that arise on separation, are increasingly being recognised worldwide.

Since the establishment of the Family Support Agency, 1,403 couples were helped by the FMS in the calendar year 2003 with 1,491 couples being helped by the service in 2004. There has been a major expansion of the service in recent years to meet a growing need for it. During this time, the service has increased from two centres in Dublin and Limerick to 14 centres throughout the country. In 2005, two additional centres will be opened, one in Letterkenny, to ensure effective access to the service in the north-west, and one in Portlaoise to similarly expand the service in the midlands.

A total of 42 staff are currently employed in FMS offices. There are four full-time offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway with part-time offices situated in Athlone, Blanchardstown, Castlebar, Dundalk, Marino, Sligo, Tallaght, Tralee, Waterford and Wexford.

The Family Support Agency also supports voluntary organisations providing marriage, relationship, child and bereavement counselling and support. Over €8 million is allocated to support more than 500 such groups throughout the country. Some 523 groups were funded under this programme in 2004 which represented an increase of almost 60 groups over the previous year. There are now 77 centres in receipt of core funding under the family and community resource centre, FRC, programme. The list of these centres has been forwarded to the Deputies.

The level of funding provided to the FRC programme for 2005 is over €10.6 million which will allow for an additional 12 new centres to be brought into the programme. These centres will be located in the following counties: four in Kerry; two in Dublin; one in Donegal; one in Kilkenny; one in Leitrim; one in Limerick; one in Mayo and one in Wexford. Furthermore, a number of groups have approval to join the programme and are currently in pre-development stage, working with their support agencies.

I am determined to ensure that the target of 100 family resource centres set under the national development plan will be met by the end of 2006.