Vol. 501 No. 5
25 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the steps, if any, taken or envisaged by him to fulfil the commitment made in An Action Programme for the Millennium to establish a national mediation service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6453/99]
44 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the steps, if any, taken or envisaged by him to fulfil the commitment made in An Action Programme for the Millennium to establish a national mediation service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6450/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 44 together.
The nationwide expansion of the family mediation service is a key priority in the Programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium. This State-funded service offers a free and confidential service to couples who have decided to separate, helping them to resolve in a non-adversarial way the issues which arise on the breakdown of a marriage. Family mediation aims to assist couples to reach agreement on all issues in relation to their separation, including financial provision, the family home and property and parenting arrangements for the children so that ongoing close relationships with both parents is made possible for the children.
The family affairs unit of my Department has responsibility for the Family Mediation Service. I am pleased to say that the nationwide expansion of the service is well under way. In addition to services in Dublin and Limerick, six new services commenced in 1998. The service is now available from regional centres in the south Cork, south-west Tralee, south-east Wexford, midlands, Athlone, north-east, Dundalk and the west, Galway.
An extra £200,000 was provided in the 1999 budget to the Family Mediation Service bringing the total allocation for this year to £1.2 million, compared to an allocation of £300,000 in 1997. This additional funding will be used to continue the development of the service and to expand the service to other parts of the country. New services are planned for west Dublin and the north-west of the country by the end of this year.
