From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration, Roderic O’Gorman T.D, today announced funding of over €618,000 which is being allocated by Tusla to Family Resource Centres (FRCs) across the country.
This one off funding will help individual FRCs, as well as groups of FRCs working together, carry out maintenance works or to fund the purchase of essential office and other equipment, in order to continue to provide essential services in disadvantaged communities across Ireland. It will include measures that will allow FRCs to respond to needs of children and families that have arisen as a result of the Covid-19 national emergency.
Family Resource Centres are a key resource in developing strong families and strong communities. The Family Resource Centre Programme is designed to allow communities and local Tusla staff to identify needs and the services required in their local areas. FRCs provide a range of universal and bespoke targeted services to their communities.
The funding is provided under the Dormant Accounts Fund, used to support measures and initiatives that address economic, social or educational disadvantage and to support people with a disability.
Speaking about the funding, Minister O’Gorman said:
“I am delighted to be announcing the approval of this additional funding for Family Resource Centres. FRCs play a vital role in supporting vulnerable children and families all over Ireland, and this funding will help them to continue providing that support through these difficult times.”
ENDS
The Dormant Accounts Fund enables unclaimed funds from accounts in credit institutions in Ireland, to be used to support the development of persons who are economically or educationally disadvantaged, or those affected by a disability within the meaning of the Equal Status Act.
Since July 2017, the Minister for Rural and Community Development has responsibility for the management of this fund, and publishes a Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan, annually, that lists the specific measures that will be funded from the Dormant Accounts Fund, and the maximum funding that each measure will receive.
The 2020 Action Plan allocates funding of €45.5 million to 43 measures to be delivered across 9 Government Departments. The Dormant Accounts 2020 Action plan allocated €1m to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for the Family Resource Centre Programme and Wider Voluntary Partners.
Of this €1m funding, €618,000 was allocated to the Family Resource Centre Programme and was distributed equally across all 17 Tusla areas. In April, FRC’s in each area were invited to make applications for funding and following this process, a list of 70 successful applicants was approved for funding by Minister O’Gorman and Minister Humphreys. This number includes individual FRCs as well as joint applications from groups of FRCs working together collaboratively.
The remaining €382,000 of Dormant Accounts Funding under this measure, has been allocated to support Tusla’s contribution to the Barnahus / OneHouse pilot project in Galway, a multi-agency integrated service for children who have experienced sexual abuse, and their families.