Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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1915. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to award funding to family resource centres to allow them to expand their counselling and wraparound supports, through shared funding and implementation of the Roadmap for Therapeutic Governance. [45197/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Funding for counselling services is administered by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. This Department has no role in the funding of individual services.

Appendix 8 of the most recent Tusla Annual Report and Financial Statements records payments to Family Support Services Counselling providers around the country. Many of these providers are Family Resource Centres, offering counselling and therapeutic services at no to low-cost for the communities that they serve.

In addition to Family Support Services Counselling funding, in 2025 the Department secured an additional €1.5 million – formerly allocated under Dormant Accounts – for counselling, psychotherapy and therapeutic services to children and young people. A significant portion of this funding was allocated to Family Resource Centres, to allow them to continue their important work of providing counselling and therapeutic services in the community. The funding helps to address unmet need and will reduce waiting lists for community-based counselling services.

In 2024, Clinical and Therapeutic Lead posts were established in eight FRCs around the country, to ensure that there is a Clinical and Therapeutic Lead in all six Tusla regions. I understand that this initiative is working very well. The focus of the role includes providing clinical leadership, ensuring that quality services are developed and adapted to meet emerging and presenting needs in the region, and monitoring standards regarding clinical practice and good governance.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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1916. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to develop and introduce a dedicated capital funding stream for family resource centres. [45198/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that neither my Department nor Tusla currently have capital funding to support the building of new or refurbishment or extension of existing Family Resource Centres. Tusla does not have a dedicated budget for capital or building works for third party organisations such as Family Resource Centres.

The Family Resource Centre Programme is a community development programme that is financially supported by many State agencies in a partnership approach. Centres may draw on various sources of funding provided by other Government Departments, agencies and private sources. In relation to any immediate or urgent requirements, I would suggest that the local County or City Council be considered as a starting point in the context of any capital funding requests.