It is nice to note that there can be a bit of light entertainment in the Chamber from time to time, even if I suspect it had a serious intent.
I want to raise the matter of moneys promised for marriage counselling services, in particular the funding of one marriage counselling service, the only non-denominational one of which I am aware in this city. It is appropriate in the International Year of the Family, and also the year in which the Government has promised a referendum on divorce, that our attention should focus on the needs of the family and on the reality of marital breakdown. The Minister and I have debated the issue of divorce on many occasions and we agree on the importance of support for marriage and the need for counselling and mediation services. The Government agrees that we should support the institution of marriage while at the same time recognising the needs of people whose marriage have irretrievably broken down.
Unfortunately support for such services as marriage counselling and so on has been minimal and erratic. In the budget a sum of £750,000 was promised to marriage counselling services but up to half-an-hour ago the marriage counselling service had heard nothing about money for it. I plead with the Minister to provide a breakdown of the allocation of these money for the various agencies. Can the marriage counselling service plan according to its pre-budget submission? I accept the Minister is serious in his intent in this regard and there must be some explanation for the delay in providing this allocation. The Minister is aware of the work of the marriage counselling service, the cost to the Government of which is a £12,000 Eastern Health Board grant and a £25,000 per annum special budget allocation during the past three years. The organisation is greatful for this allocation but it is not enough. Following the budget allocation the organisation increased its counselling hours, doubled its out-postings, recruited a new chief executive officer, developed new services, trained more counsellors, recruited additional staff and acquired more premises. It is updating its services so that more people can avail of the service. If it received the amount sought in its pre-budget submission it would be able to reduce its extensive waiting lists and extend its services nationwide.
This organisation which has been in existance for the past 31 years is highly regarded. I was a member of the board of it some years ago and it has a highly trained staff. Every politician knows the effects of marital discord and relationship difficulties. Anything we can do to alleviate those difficulties and any support we can give to such an agency will result in the alleviation of some of those difficulties.
Divorce is not a solution to marital breakdown. Our aim is to try to help those people who are experiencing difficulty. Obviously, we cannot focus on a one end solution for a certain number of people. The Minister said he is concerned about the level of mediation services and is supportive of them but verbal support is not sufficient. Those agencies need money. Even if they cannot have the money now they need to know when, or if, they will receive it.
Under normal circumstances the agency would know in January what money would be available for the year. They are concerned that since January they have heard nothing from the Minister despite many attempts to ascertain what is happening. I hope there will be a positive response from the Minister and that this agency, and others involved in marriage counselling services, will know what the future holds for them and how much of their funding they will have to garner through cake sales and so on.