Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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128. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the details of the expansion plan to increase the number of family resource centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40502/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, administers the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme.

Tusla has informed me that it receives expressions of interest, from time to time, from voluntary organisations seeking FRC status. It is advisable for any organisation interested in such a process to contact Tusla directly, so that Tusla is aware of that organisation's interest in the event that funding becomes available.

I understand many family support services are advocating for increased funding, particularly where they want to expand operations to meet the needs of more service users, while other organisations wish to join the Programme. It is for Tusla to decide the most appropriate use of funding in family support services, including the FRC Programme.

Specific allocation of Tusla's funding in 2021, including in respect of family support services, will be finalised in Tusla’s Business Plan for 2021 which is currently in development.