Family Resource Centres
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-28
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Colm Brophy (FG), Dublin South-West

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and giving me an opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister. The forthcoming expansion of the family resource centre programme is the latest in a number of very positive developments for the programme over the past few years. There is a programme for a Government commitment to work to increase funding and expand the capacity and network of family resource centres. Budget 2026 honours the commitment, with funding secured for a further ten family resource centres. This will bring the family resource centre programme membership up to 136. While I cannot comment on any specific organisation, I understand that these ten additional family resource centres are due to be announced in the very near future. The expansion follows the increase in the membership of the programme in 2025 by five members, where funding was secured as part of budget 2025 measures. This was the first such expansion since 2018. A further equalisation scheme for the family resource centre programme was initiated by the Department in 2024. The scheme ensured that all family resource centre programme members received minimum core funding of at least €160,000 from 2025 onwards. In addition to budget 2026 measures providing for ten additional members, the measures have also enabled an increase in the minimum core funding for all programme members to €180,000 from 2026 onwards.
The ten new members of the family resource centre programme will also receive this core funding component. It is important to note that many of the Tusla-funded family support counselling services providers are family resource centres. The centres offer valuable counselling and therapeutic services at no to low cost in their communities. Many family resource centres also benefit from additional funding that has been secured by the Department over the last few years, which was formally allocated as part of the dormant funds. This funding is for counselling, psychotherapy and therapeutic services for children and young people. It helps to address unmet need and reduce waiting lists for community-based counselling services.
A comprehensive national application and assessment process was undertaken to determine the new family resource centre programme members. This process was led by Tusla and independently chaired by a representative at the University of Limerick. All applications were reviewed and scored against clearly defined and published criteria. The process was outlined in the Tusla outcome letters that issued to all applicants. A total of 49 applications were received, demonstrating that there is a strong interest in the programme membership from a wide range of community-based organisations.
The benefits of community-based services such as family resource centres cannot be overstated. The Senator clearly made that case himself in his own contribution. Many of us will witness at first hand the impacts that the resource centres have on communities that they serve. They engage with vulnerable families and offer services to individuals across the whole life cycle from early years to senior citizens. Crucially, they foster a positive and inclusive community spirit. The range of services they provide can be extensive and determined by the needs of the relevant communities they serve. It is particularly important to note that many services are delivered at that point at no cost or very low cost to families who would otherwise not be able to avail of them.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-28