As Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, I value all the services that Family Resource Centres (FRC) provide across the country. I greatly appreciate FRCs providing low-cost counselling, play therapy and other therapeutic services to support children and families within the community. It should be noted that overall responsibility for mental health services lies with the Department of Health.
I am conscious of the challenges posed for service planning by the annual nature of the budgetary cycle. The management of grant funding is governed by Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds which requires that all grants be expended by year end. While I would welcome further discussion in relation to this, the Public Spending Code and a move to providing long term or multi-annual funding is a matter for central Government and will require cross-government and legislative consideration.
Since 2014, the number of grant funded organisations, including FRCs and other community and voluntary organisations funded by Tusla under section 56-59 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, has increased, as has the total amount of funding provided. My Department and Tusla have worked to promote investment in FRCs and to develop a commissioning approach to ensure that funding and resources available to children and families, are used in the most effective, equitable and sustainable way possible.