If all accept Erris should be part of the National Family Resource Centre Programme, then why are they waiting so long?
Erris Family and Community Support Centre expressed “disappointment and dismay” in September after losing out for a second time in three years to become a fully-fledged Family Resource Centre (FRC).
The Erris area is one of the most remote and disadvantaged rural areas in the country and the application was viewed by independent adjudicators as being exceptionally strong.
However, only five new projects were accepted into the National Family Resource Centre Programme and Erris’s strong presence on the ground and impact may, ironically, have gone against them. They currently receive core funding support from Tusla and employ a co-ordinator and a part-time administrator. Following the first unsuccessful FRC application, they also took on a family support service previously set up in 2018. This service is also funded by Tusla.
Full FRC recognition would enhance their ability to deliver for communities across Erris.
“The application was really strong and we were really happy with it. So it was a big shock and we were really disappointed,” said project co-ordinator Leanne Barrett. “We asked for feedback and we scored highly on all criteria, but what went against us was that we were already providing the service.”
In September, it was announced that five new FRCs – in Dublin, Monaghan, Louth, Kildare and Galway – were to be admitted into the national programme. With this expansion, the number of Family Resource Centres has increased from 121 to 126.
“While we welcome the addition of new FRCs and are pleased for the new communities that are going to benefit, we are extremely disappointed and surprised by the outcome of our application,” the board of the Erris group said in a statement issued immediately after the announcement.
• Leanne Barrett (4th from right) pictured in September with volunteers and supporters who helped to raise €2,000 to provide counselling through Erris Family and Community Support Centre. They are pictured at an event organised in collaboration with the local branch of North West STOP-Suicide Prevention.
Now, hopes are higher. Speaking to Ms. Barrett in December, she said, “We took it on the chin, because they recognised the good work being done and were complimentary about the application.”
“Tusla said that our plan was robust, it was well evidenced, that it aligned with both the community needs and community development approach, and also the kind of commissioning priorities that they would have.
“They hope to be able to meet with us in the new year to explore opportunities and how we might align and integrate the funding we have with the national FRC model,” she said. Erris has a “very good relationship” with their local Tusla office also.
Leanne pointed hopefully to plans laid out in Budget 2026 to expand the national programme by adding 10 new centres to bring the total number up to 136 FRCs by year’s end.
For Erris, one of the most important elements of their work is community development. The area had gaps in terms of services and suffered from generational disadvantage, while cutbacks over a decade ago had taken a heavy toll.
Leanne believes capacity building and empowerment work is needed “to get people engaged and involved”. The area has an aging population, services are far away and unemployment is relatively high. She spoke of the need “to give people spaces so they can come together collectively and look at what the needs are, and to give them the skills and capacity to actually do something about it – that it’s not just about services”.
“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,” she said.
They thought they were nearly there when we reported on their progress in 2023 – see report here:
