Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 613: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason his Department has helped establish a new family resource centre in Raphoe, County Donegal where a community resource centre already exists (details supplied); the further reason funding from his Department has been redirected from the community resource centre to a private landlord in view of the fact that his Department helped to purchase the house for the centre. [15381/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Raphoe Family Resource Centre (FRC) was established in 2002 under the Family & Community Services Resource Centre Programme and continues to be funded under the programme by the Family Support Agency. The aim of a Family Resource Centre is essentially to help combat disadvantage by supporting the functioning of the family unit. Centres provide services for lone parent families, young mothers and others considered in need of extra support. They can act as a first step to community participation and social inclusion. As with all Family Resource Centres, Raphoe FRC is run by a voluntary management committee made up of people from the local community.

On its establishment, Raphoe FRC moved into a community centre in Raphoe. This building had previously been purchased for community use with the support of a once-off grant from my Department, so that the building could become a resource for the people of Raphoe. The centre is also used by a number of other community groups. Recently however, the management committee of the Raphoe FRC decided that a move to dedicated premises would be beneficial for the work of the FRC.

I understand that this decision was based on a number of criteria including lack of space for staff, the need for accessibility for wheelchair users and the opportunity to provide an increased range of programmes and courses for the community as a whole. Although Raphoe FRC has moved to new premises, the community centre continues to be a resource for the people of Raphoe and indeed I have been informed that the FRC has asked the community centre if it can continue to hire out rooms for the provision of some of its services. This request is under consideration by the board of the community centre.