She emailed us fresh from attending the Family Resource Centre’s (FRC) national conference, which was held on Wednesday, June 24, in Mullingar. She and colleagues and voluntary board members from Erris were very pleased to attend for the first time – after being formally accepted some months ago into the national Family Resource Centre Programme following years of campaigning for recognition. Erris is now one of 136 projects in the programme which funded by Tusla, The Child and Family Agency.
In any case, Leanne emailed to say that President Catherine Connolly attended the conference and spoke about their long-running campaign and the merits of the work they do. They had not expected that.
Then President Connolly quoted Leanne from an article published in Changing Ireland.
Leanne’s positivity when they were still struggling for recognition and more funding “caught my eye,” said the President. She read out the following from Leanne:
“It’s important to not just focus on the need and disadvantage in Erris. It’s actually about taking the good things we have, the strengths and using that. We have always said: Give us the funding and the resources and we will work to make sure that we can meet our needs and respond to our needs.”
President Connolly said, “These words resonated with me, as I am sure they do with all of you.”
Her full speech is now available to read here: https://president.ie/en/media-library/speeches/speech-by-president-connolly-at-the-family-resource-centre-national-conference
Reporting afterwards, Leanne said, “Being in attendance at this annual conference was a special occasion for us as one of the recent 10 projects admitted to the FRC Programme.”
The Erris group returned to north-west Mayo on a high, as Leanne recounted to us:
“I just wanted to thank you for your interest and support. If you had not written about our project, then this likely would not have happened. It was a really proud and special moment for us and we are still smiling,” she wrote.
Norma Foley, the Minister for Children, Disabilty and Equality, also attended and spoke at the conference.
As Leanne said, “The attendance and address of Minister Norma Foley and Uachtarán na hÉireann Catherine Connolly shows how much has been achieved by the Family Resource Centre National Forum to gain recognition and investment in the programme and the respect held for FRCs across the country.”
Cormac Russell, co-author of ‘The Connected Community’, was one of the guest speakers. He said, “From womb to tomb, the FRC network represents some of the finest global examples of place-based community development practice and community-first wellbeing initiatives. And they deserve to be cheered on and supported.”
Pre-Budget Submission
The Family Resource Centre National Forum recently published its Pre-Budget Submission for Budget 2027.
It says that investment in Family Resource Centres is “essential” to strengthen community supports, improve early intervention services, and deliver long-term social and economic benefits. Invest now to save later, it urges the Government.
Specific asks include:
- A minimum of €255,000 in core-funding per FRC.
- A dedicated capital funding stream for FRCs.
- Funding to support 3 core staff per centre on public sector-aligned salaries, plus essential operating costs.
- Investment to build, acquire, or upgrade FRC facilities.
You can read the submission here: https://www.familyresource.ie/uploadedfiles/Budget%202027_1.pdf
