Kildare Senator says the Minister for Public Expenditure must support Newbridge FRC

Local Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O’Loughlin has told the Seanad that the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Paschal Donohue needs to find a way to support Newbridge Family Resource Centre.

O’Loughlin said, “I met with Newbridge Family Resource Centre on Monday. It has an excellent executive team and has contributed so much to the community of Newbridge over the years.”

“In many ways, the family resource centre constitutes the heartbeat of our communities. Newbridge FRC offers counselling, mother and baby classes, a community creche, a community garden and so much more.”

The Newbridge Family Resource Centre  was awarded two grants, one from Pobal and the other from the Irish Council, for Civil Liberties to fund the refurbishment and expansion of their operation in Dara Park.

O’Loughlin said, “Unfortunately, when it went to tender to replace prefabs, the tender came in far higher because, as we know, the cost of building, etc., has escalated. We need to support those who are in situations such as this and require more funding to complete capital projects.”

Fiona continued, “We also need to look at the criteria in terms of timelines in terms of drawing down such funds. If an organisation does not draw down the money within a particular timeframe, there is a real problem, which means that it may lose the grant altogether. This is a significant matter that we need to examine. I raised this issue in the Fianna Fail pre budget meeting yesterday.”