Brian Stanley: Urgent Budget Boost for Family Resource Centres
Brian Stanley warns that Family Resource Centres across the state face rising costs and growing demand while core funding fails to cover basic operations ahead of the forthcoming budget. He highlights centres and calls for a substantial increase in core funding to avoid crisis-driven responses.
Brian Stanley sets out the immediate problem: core operational budgets of around €180,000 per centre are not keeping pace with escalating overheads. He says that sum does not cover even three full-time staff and argues that inadequate core funding forces services into reactive, crisis-led responses rather than effective early intervention.
Stanley gives concrete examples of local provision under pressure. He names Family Resource Centres and notes that the centre in Harper's End and Portlaoise is providing 114 preschool places alone, alongside parenting support, youth intervention and counselling services.
The Deputy asks colleagues to prioritise a substantial increase in core funding in the forthcoming budget. He warns that without that uplift there will be higher costs later and fewer early intervention supports for families, shifting the balance toward costly crisis management.
Stanley also details recent and planned engagement: he met the Greystones centre and the national organisation, and a pre-budget meeting is scheduled for autumn. He stresses the need to balance funding for existing centres with the aim of opening new centres in underserved communities, referencing ongoing advocacy in Longford.
Funding shortfall
Brian Stanley sets out the immediate problem: core operational budgets of around €180,000 per centre are not keeping pace with escalating overheads. He says that sum does not cover even three full-time staff and argues that inadequate core funding forces services into reactive, crisis-led responses rather than effective early intervention.
Local services under strain
Stanley gives concrete examples of local provision under pressure. He names Family Resource Centres and notes that the centre in Harper's End and Portlaoise is providing 114 preschool places alone, alongside parenting support, youth intervention and counselling services.
Budget ask and consequences
The Deputy asks colleagues to prioritise a substantial increase in core funding in the forthcoming budget. He warns that without that uplift there will be higher costs later and fewer early intervention supports for families, shifting the balance toward costly crisis management.
Engagement and next steps
Stanley also details recent and planned engagement: he met the Greystones centre and the national organisation, and a pre-budget meeting is scheduled for autumn. He stresses the need to balance funding for existing centres with the aim of opening new centres in underserved communities, referencing ongoing advocacy in Longford.
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Transcript
Family Resource Centres around the state are doing fantastic work but are under significant pressure due to rising costs and increasing demands on their services. The level of core funding is simply not keeping pace with their escalating overheads. Portlaoise and Mount Millig Family Resource Centres are providing vital services to families that are making a real difference that we can see. Services such as parenting support, youth intervention, early years preschool services, counselling and a whole lot more. The centre in Harper's End and Portlaoise is providing 114 preschool places alone. But without an increase in the forthcoming budget, there will be limited to crisis-driven reactive responses instead of more effective early interventions. Core operational budgets for these centres is £180,000 per annum. It's simply not enough to pay three full-time staff. So I'm asking you to ensure that in the forthcoming budget, and I know there will be a lot of asks on you, but without these, you'll have a lot more costs to ensure that the FRC has received a substantial increase in core funding. Thanks, Deputy Stanley. Firstly, let me say my accepted return on investment in family resource centres is extremely good. I met with my own in Greystones very recently and indeed the national organisation came to see me there as well. They're due to come in to see me for a pre-budget meeting in the autumn as well. Being truthful, we've been trying to balance over the last number of years between the issue of core funding for existing centres and trying to fill in the map, because in quite a number of communities where there hasn't been a family resource centre, as you can see my colleague Deputy Carragher here has been making the case in Longford for a significant period of time. So it has been that balance between new centres and making sure we're adequately funding existing centres and we'll have to just check we get that balance right. But I look forward to meeting with the national group and if you want to send me details on Port Alice and Mount Malac, I'll engage in that.