Family Resource Centres
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-29
============================================================

Emer Higgins (FG), Dublin Mid-West

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. It is fantastic that the last two budgets have allowed for 15 new family resource centres to be established. I thank the Senator for pointing out the pre-budget submission that was worked on. I will ensure that is brought to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Foley, in the course of budgetary negotiations. As the Senator is aware, the programme for Government has a commitment to work to increase funding and expand the capacity and network of family resource centres. That will obviously be front of mind as we continue negotiations. To use the Senator's own words, they are a powerful, effective community movement, and our Department fully agrees, as does Tusla, which manages the project.
On a separate note, I know the Senator is organising an event for the Oireachtas to mark the 50th anniversary of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind on Thursday.
I very much look forward to attending that event and recognising the remarkable work the organisation has carried out over the last 50 years.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29