Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 140: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will report on the welfare reforms outlined in the programme for Government for family supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39422/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government contains two commitments in relation to family supports. These are:

Continue to fully resource the Family Support Agency and its programmes of Counselling, Family Resource Centres, etc. and

Continue to support community groups, and other appropriate family support structures to promote better parenting.

The Family Support Agency's (FSA) budget for 2008 amounts to more than €36 million. This is up from some €28 million in 2006 and €35 million in 2007.

The FSA is responsible for a scheme of grants to voluntary organisations providing a range of family counselling and related matters. Over €9.9m was allocated in 2007 and some 553 organisations nationwide benefited from the scheme. In 2008, over €11m has been granted to 600 voluntary and community groups nationwide.

The FSA is also responsible for the Family and Community Services Resource Centre Programme (FRC programme). The aim of a Family Resource Centre is essentially to help combat disadvantage by supporting the functioning of the family unit. The emphasis in the projects 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 area concerned.

The services provided and activities supported by the resource centres are designed to meet the needs of the local community. They include the provision of parenting courses, education and training opportunities for parents and active dissemination of information on a range of issues affecting families and local communities. By the end of 2008, the number of FRCs will have expanded from an original 10 to 107 nationwide. The FSA also runs 16 family mediation service offices across the country.

In 2007 the Family Support Agency launched a 'Parenting Positively' series of booklets jointly produced by the Agency and Barnardos. The series of nine free booklets provide information and guidance to parents of children between the ages of six and 12 years and cover general parenting skills as well as life issues such as separation, bullying, death and domestic abuse.

Budget 2009 also provided an extra €500,000 for the Family Support Agency to support programmes to promote positive parenting skills.

In January 2008, the Department amalgamated the Special Projects Fund and the Family Services Project into a new Activation and Family Supports programme (AFSP). Some €6m has been made available to the AFSP for 2008 to support a small group of social welfare dependent customers with complex needs, including very young lone parents, other parents rearing children without the support of a partner and dependent spouses on social welfare payments. The programme is administered through the local Facilitator network based in the Social Welfare Local Offices. Examples of activities funded include, parenting projects for lone parents, family support for Travellers and support programmes for carers and families of people with disabilities.