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Gnáthamharc

Family Support Services.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 November 2004

Wednesday, 10 November 2004

Ceisteanna (84, 85)

Jimmy Deenihan

Ceist:

128 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the work to date that he has carried out to promote family mediation as a non-adversarial approach to the resolution of issues which arise on marital breakdown and parental separation; the amount provided for and actually spent for each of the years 2002, 2003 and 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28156/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Pádraic McCormack

Ceist:

130 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount he has allocated for and the amount spent in 2002, 2003 and 2004 to promote and support, in conjunction with the Family Support Agency, the provision of marriage and relationship counselling services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28155/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

It is proposed to answer Questions Nos. 128 and 130 together.

The Family Support Agency, established on 6 May 2003, brings together pro-family programmes and services introduced by the Government in recent years. These are designed to promote continuity and stability in family life, help prevent family breakdown, support ongoing parenting relationships for children and local community support for families.

One of the services provided directly is a nationwide family mediation service. The agency provides funding to support, promote and develop the provision of marriage and relationship counselling and other family supports. The family and community services resource centre programme is also funded through the agency. This year, 2004, funding of €7.61 million was made available to some 520 voluntary and community groups nationwide providing marriage counselling, marriage preparation, child counselling relating to parental separation and bereavement counselling and support.

This Government's families first approach is illustrated by the expansion and continued success of this scheme. This year's funding is more than six and a half times the allocation in 1997 and some €600,000 greater than 2003. The amounts spent on this scheme in 2002 and 2003 respectively were €6,713,789 and €7,088,970.

The Family Mediation Service is a free, professional, confidential service that enables couples who have decided to separate to reach agreement on all issues related to their separation. It assists couples to address the issues on which they need to make decisions, including post-separation living arrangements, finances and parenting arrangements to enable children to have an ongoing relationship with each parent. The benefits of family mediation, as a non-adversarial approach to resolving the issues that arise on separation, are increasingly being recognised worldwide.

The continued expansion of the Family Mediation Service is a priority for the Family Support Agency. During 2003, new centres opened in Sligo and Waterford, bringing to 14 the number of offices nationally. Two more centres are planned for the near future, copper-fastening the service in the north west with the opening of a centre in Letterkenny and expanding the service in the Midlands with a new centre in Portlaoise. The amount provided for and spent for the Family Mediation Service in 2002 and 2003 is as follows:

Year

Allocated

Spent

2002

€1.7 million

€1,252,593

2003

€1,507,735

€1,398,406.

A total of €2.445 million was allocated to the Family Mediation Service in 2004. For 2004, over €20 million has been made available to the Family Support Agency to fulfil its functions. The level of funding allocated to this area underlines this Government's commitment to supporting families in meeting their key responsibilities not just in the care of individual family members, but through this care to society generally. It represents a ten fold increase in the amount allocated to family services in 1997 when the Government first came to office.

Question No. 129 answered with QuestionNo. 76.
Question No. 130 answered with QuestionNo. 128.
Question No. 131 answered with QuestionNo. 102.
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