Ten new childcare and family support centres have received a welcome boost following their admission to the Government’s National Family Resource Centre Programme.

The announcement made today by Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley means that the centres will receive minimum funding of €180,000 on an annual basis.

The expansion increases the number of Family Resource Centres (FRCs) established across the country from 126 to 136. The designation ensures each centre will receive minimum funding of 180,000 euro per annum.

The successful applicants announced today include Erris Family & Community Support Centre CLG, Co Mayo; Local Youth & Family Service (Gaoth Dobhair), Co. Donegal; Northwest STOP (Drumkeeran), Co. Leitrim; Roscrea Family Resource Centre CLG, Co Tipperary; Limerick Island Community Partnership (LICP); Templeshannon Community & Childcare Ltd (Enniscorthy), Co Wexford; Coiste Áiseanna na hÓige (Daingean Uí Chúis), Co Kerry; Walkinstown Greenhills Resource Centre, Dublin; Omeath District Development CLG, Co Louth andLongford Family Resource Centre Steering Group, Co Longford.

Speaking in Co Kerry today, Minister Foley said that today’s announcement represents a “hugely important” expansion of the country’s FRC network.

“I’m a great admirer of the FRC family. They are embedded in communities. They are of community and for community,” the minister said.

“Where issues arise I always find that the Family Resource Centres, they step up and step in and so I am really pleased that we have an additional ten centres spread across the country now,” she added.

Áiseanna na hÓige in west Kerry is one of the centres which has been admitted to the Government’s scheme.

The centre in Daingean Uí Chúis caters for over 150 children, providing a range of services including créche, pre-school, naíonra and after-school support. Áiseanna na hÓige had been relying on funding from Tusla which was only granted on a year-by-year basis.

Manager at Áiseanna na hÓige, Fiona Nic Gearailt says the centre’s inclusion in the national FRC network will bring added security to their services.

“It’s fantastic news for us. We’ve been operating here for almost twenty years. We applied to be included the Family Resource Centre network in 2018 and again in 2025 but we were unsuccessful,” she said.

“We have been relying on funding that can only carry us from one year to the next. There was no certainty there. Now we are guaranteed 180,000 euro a year long-term. This means we can ensure our services can be continued and that we can enhance those services in the future,” she added.

CEO of Tusla, Kate Duggan, also welcomed today’s announcement.

In a statement, she said: “We are thrilled to welcome these ten new organisations into the Family Resource Centre Programme. Each brings unique local strengths and deep community roots. This expansion is a reflection of Tusla’s commitment to prevention, inclusion and early intervention.”

The addition of the ten new FRCs followed acomprehensive national application and assessment process was undertaken in relation to proposed new FRCs.

The process was independently chaired by a representative of the University of Limerick.

In Budget 2026, the minimum funding level for all FRCs was increased from to €160,000 to €180,000 for 2026.