Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 24: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his plans to improve the family support programmes and measures on offer by his Department and other agencies under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43273/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides for a range of family support programmes and services, via the Family Services Project and the Family Support Agency, through a range of groups and organisations that are involved in the provision of supports and information to parents and families.

Specifically, the Family Support Agency has responsibility for a number of key programmes including the Family and Community Services Resource Centre (FRC) Programme, the scheme of grants to voluntary organisations providing marriage, child and bereavement counselling and the Family Mediation Service.

The emphasis in the Family Resource Centres is on the involvement of local communities in developing approaches to tackle the problems they face and on creating successful partnerships between the voluntary and statutory agencies in the areas concerned. Government commitment to this key sector has been underscored by the allocation of an increase of almost €5million to the FRC programme in 2007, to facilitate its consolidation and expansion, bringing total funding, including an increase announced in the budget, to some €18.75 million.

The scheme of grants to the family counselling sector is another key family support administered by the Family Support Agency. During 2006, financial support was provided to over 540 groups nationwide. 2007 funding will increase to €10 million, including a recent budget increase to allow for an increase in grant payments to those organisations that apply for funding and for an anticipated increase in the number of groups applying for support.

Overall, the budget of the Family Support Agency will increase to over €35.3 million up from €28 million in 2006 and a massive €10.8 million increase since 2005 to continue with its mission to promote family and community well being through the provision of appropriate supports and services to families.

My Department is also responsible for the Family Services Project (FSP) which was established to provide a high quality information service on the range of supports available to families and to provide programmes of support to groups of customers with complex needs for example lone parents, dependent spouses on social welfare payments with children, carers and Traveller families.

Examples of activities funded under the FSP, now administered by the Employment Supports Service in my Department, include parenting projects for very young lone parents, support programmes for families of people with disabilities and family support for Travellers. To date in 2006, over €1.40 million has been expended on some 82 programmes to assist disadvantaged families, 37 of which were parenting programmes. The project is monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that the funding is targeted at those families most in need of assistance.