Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the terms of reference, functions and purpose of the Family Support Agency and the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman; if the agencies are still operational; the reason these functions cannot be carried out by his Department; the benefits to the Irish tax-payer gained from the work of the agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35072/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The establishment of a statutory agency to oversee the provision of services to families was first suggested in the report of the Commission on the Family in 1998, with the recommendation that the Family Mediation Service be established on a statutory footing.

The Family Support Agency was established, with a wider remit, in 2003 under the terms of the Family Support Agency Act, 2001 to bring together the pro-family related programmes and services which are designed to promote local family support, help prevent marital breakdown, promote continuity and stability in family life and support ongoing parenting relationships for children.

The Family Support Agency (FSA) is a dedicated resource for both families themselves and the local and national voluntary organisations that work with families across Ireland. It is overseen by a board with expertise and experience in matters related to its responsibilities.

The Agency's main functions are to:

Support, promote and develop the Family and Community Services Resource Centre Programme.

Support, promote and develop the provision of marriage and relationship counselling services, child counselling services and bereavement support for families and

Provide a Family Mediation Service throughout the country.

The FSA also has a role in the provision of information on parenting and family issues and undertakes research into family matters.

Recent statistics indicate that up to 70,000 people per annum avail of counselling funded by the FSA. In addition, a review of the Family Resource Centre Programme showed almost 850,000 visits to family resource centres during 2005, with 140,000 people receiving advice and information and almost 16,000 people completing training courses.

Provision was made for the appointment of a Pensions Ombudsman in the Pensions (amendment) Act 2002. The Pensions Ombudsman was appointed in April 2003 and his Office opened for business in September of that year.

The role of the Pensions Ombudsman is to investigate complaints of financial loss due to maladministration and disputes of fact or law in relation to occupational pension schemes and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. In common with others providing services of this nature the Pensions Ombudsman is completely independent in the performance of his functions, and I consider that this is the most appropriate way of ensuring that pension scheme members can have their complaints dealt with in a fair and impartial manner.