Conor Lenihan
Question:702 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to recognise the work of groups representing unmarried fathers. [2154/98]
Written Answers. - Unmarried Fathers.
Conor Lenihan
Question:703 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his Department's policy in relation to groups who represent men who are lone parents. [2155/98]
Conor Lenihan
Question:704 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason his Department will not fund, by way of direct grant, the Tallaght Unmarried Father's Group which is the only such group in existence. [2156/98]
Conor Lenihan
Question:705 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will meet with groups representing unmarried fathers. [2157/98]
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 702 to 705, inclusive, together.
Local community groups comprised of lone parents, including unmarried fathers, are eligible to apply for grant assistance under a number of grant schemes operated by my Department and are not discriminated against. To be eligible for funding groups must subscribe to a self-help, community development ethos and must satisfy the criteria as laid down for each scheme. Applications received under each scheme are assessed initially by the relevant regional office before being finally assessed by the voluntary and community services section of my Department.
The same criteria are used in assessing all applications within a particular scheme and no group is discriminated against. However, each year the number of applications received under the various schemes greatly exceeds the funds available to meet them. Therefore, it was not possible to meet all the demands within the resources available including that from the Tallaght unmarried fathers group. Grants ranging from £500 to £3,500 and averaging £1,350 each were paid to a number of groups under the relevant scheme in the Dublin west region. The 1998 grants will be advertised shortly and it is open to the various groups to submit a fresh application for funding which will be again considered on the same basis as all applications received and in the light of the available resources.
As you may appreciate a large number of groups apply for funding each year, with some 2,500 applying in 1997 alone. While I receive many requests to meet with a variety of these groups it is not always possible to do so. Indeed, in many cases staff from the Department's local regional office meet with groups to assess their applications and are best placed to assist and deal with the group's queries. However, requests from groups who wish to meet with me are, and will continue to be, dealt with on an individual basis.