Counselling services across Cork city and county to benefit from €1.5m fund

Seven different counselling services supporting children and families across Cork city and county have been allocated grants of between €5,000 and €100,000, the Minister for Disability, Children and Equality, Norma Foley has announced. 

The seven Cork-based services offer community based counselling, psychotherapy and a range of therapeutic interventions such as play therapy, creative arts therapy, bereavement support and systemic family therapy.  

The Cork beneficiaries include Barnardos Childrens' Bereavement Service (€100,000), Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services (€30,000), Cork Counselling Services (€31,000), The Social and Health Education Project in Ballintemple (€30,000), Carrigaline Family Support Centre (€5,000), Beara West Family Resource Centre (€5,000) and Bandon Family Resource Centre (€5,000).  

A total of 73 counselling services received notification of allocations under the €1.5m scheme announced by the Minister this week. 

It is envisaged that this €1.5m annual investment will enable these services to increase counselling and therapeutic capacity, reduce waiting lists for children and young people, provide supports to those who may otherwise be unable to access services due to cost or location and "embed a more sustainable response to the growing demand for child and adolescent therapeutic support."

The Minister said that the funding reflected "the government's recognition of the critical work being done every day by local community services". "

"I am proud to support their work and delighted that this investment will now be part of the mainstream provision through Tusla,” said the Minister.

Tusla's role in collaboration with the funded organisations is to "ensure accountability, quality, and ongoing responsiveness to emerging needs in communties across Ireland". 

The decision to "regularise funding for these services" follows what is described as a detailed survey from organisations which had previously received funding through the Dormant Accounts Fund.