Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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560. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has plans to increase the funding to Tusla in order that it can provide additional staff in family resource centres located in areas that have experienced high levels of immigration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22511/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Family Resource Centres are funded by Tusla, from the allocation secured for Tusla by my Department in the annual budget and estimates process. Potential changes in funding are considered and explored through the annual budgetary process.

Tusla administers the Family Resource Centre Programme which provides funding support to 121 FRCs across the country. My Department allocates core funding for the Family Resource Centre Programme.

The relationship that has developed between the Tusla Areas, Tusla Commissioning, the Family Resource Centres and National Forum means the use of core funding is maximised and allows for engagement around additional activity and potential for pilot schemes to be explored. Many of those schemes make real impact on the lives of people.

Family Resource Centres can also make use of non-core funding from other Government Departments or agencies and indeed from other sources such as philanthropic concerns. I commend Family Resource Centres around the country for their continued efforts to leverage and attract funding from other state actors or the private sector.

The commissioning of Family Resource Centres is an operational matter for Tusla. Tusla’s Area Managers engage in the commissioning process and participate in meetings and discussions with community and voluntary agencies. Tusla aims to use the total resources available in the most efficient, equitable, proportionate and sustainable way in order to improve outcomes for children, young people, and families. Local Tusla Area Managers and the Tusla Commissioning Team can be contacted in relation to Family Resource Centres' planned service delivery and any potential to develop services.

I am very aware that Family Resource Centres have been at the front line of the response to national crises in recent years, maintaining vital services during the pandemic and providing care and assistance to children, families and newly arrived communities at crisis. Having been made aware of a survey conducted by the National Forum of Family Resource Centres during 2022, I and my Department were in a position to allocate extra funding to Tusla to use in Family Resource Centres to assist with the needs of those fleeing the war in Ukraine.