Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 March 2004
609 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the best advice and support will be given to the Kerry Deaf Resource Centre (details supplied) to meet the family support needs of its members and funding for its worthwhile efforts. [8362/04]
View answer611 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she plans to provide funding for an organisation (details supplied) in County Kerry. [8421/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 609 and 611 together.
The Deaf Resource Centre provides services to deaf adults and children with a particular emphasis on sign language users. Its co-ordinator made representations to me on 13 February and 8 March to provide a grant or funding to engage a family support worker with sign language skills or a community development worker. My Department has no money to provide such a service. I passed the matter over to the chief executive officer of the Family Support Agency to see if it could support the centre.
Last year I established the agency. Its aims are as follows: to provide a family mediation service; to support, promote and develop the provision of marriage and relationship counselling and other family support services; and to support, promote and develop the family and community services resource centre programme.
The agency issued a letter to the centre's co-ordinator advising that the funding requested does not come within the remit of any of its support schemes. It was suggested that the centre should contact the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs who may be in a position to help.
