Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 February 2026
231. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason a family resource centre was not provided to a community (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15428/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to inform the Deputy that the commissioning of new Family Resource Centres is an operational matter for Tusla, which is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Family Resource Centre Programme. Neither myself nor the Department had any involvement in the assessment process for new members of the Family Resource Centre Programme, or in selecting new Programme members.
Expansion of the FRC Programme followed a comprehensive national application and assessment process undertaken in 2025, which was led by Tusla and independently chaired by a representative of the University of Limerick. All applications were reviewed and scored against the clearly defined and published criteria, including population need, level of deprivation, child population data, existing service provision and existing service gaps. Decisions on the successful services were made by the assessment panel. This process was outlined in the Tusla outcome letters that issued to all applicants.
This most recent expansion of the Family Resource Centre Programme honours a Programme for Government commitment to work to increase funding and expand the capacity and network of Family Resource Centres. It was made possible by the securing of funding as part of Budget 2026, which has allowed membership to increase this year from 126 members to 136 members. This is a very welcome development, following the announcement of an additional five Programme members in August 2025.
It should be noted that a total of forty-nine organisations applied for membership of the Family Resource Centre Programme, following an open call from Tusla for applications to join the Programme. This indicates the strong level of interest in communities around the country in having Family Resource Centres as part of their community infrastructure. I understand that Tusla was very impressed with the level of interest in joining the FRC Programme, and with the quality of the applications received. Regretfully, funding over 2025 and 2026 only allowed for fifteen new members to be selected, leaving thirty-four applications unsuccessful. I want to thank those organisations for their interest in joining the Programme, and for the important work they continue to do in their communities.
There is currently no additional funding available to further expand the Family Resource Centre Programme in 2026. I will continue to pursue the expansion of the FRC Programme through the budgetary process and in line with the Programme for Government commitment. If successful in securing funds for future expansion of the FRC Programme, a new call for applications will be launched to ensure all existing and newly interested locations can apply.
I understand that Tusla will, over the coming months, be in contact with organisations whose applications were unsuccessful as part of this call, and that Tusla intends to engage with any parties interested in applying for any potential future open calls for applications.
In relation to the request for a meeting included in the correspondence you shared, as previously mentioned the commissioning of new Family Resource Centres is an operational matter for Tusla. Officials in the Department will bring this matter to the attention of the relevant Tusla representatives.
