€1.1m plan for family unit services

CORK is to get a major expansion of childcare provision and family support services this year thanks to a €1.1 million grant announced yesterday.

In another up-beat development for the city, the Gurranabraher community centre, known locally as the Hut, closed its doors yesterday ahead of a major €700,000 revamp.

The Department of Justice has allocated €1.1m to the Knocknaheeny/Hollyhill Family Centre which has been based in a prefab building on Harbour View Road for the last 20 years.

The money will go towards a new state-of-the-art facility on the grounds of Terence McSwiney College on the city’s northside.

Two other facilities are being built on the same site in conjunction with Cork City Council, the Health Service Executive and the VEC.

The ‘Link Point’ complex will also include a youth centre and a health centre.

But it is the Family Centre which is expected to provide the biggest support to the local population. The centre currently provides a range of services to meet the educational, personal development and social needs of women, men and children.

Its 19 staff also run a preschool and nursery for 40 children aged one to five.

More places are planned when the new centre opens later this year.

“This is great news, particularly for the young children, as they will have a brand new building with new modern equipment by the end of the year,” Family Centre treasurer Cllr Tony Fitzgerald said.

He also praised the Daughters of Charity for their work at the centre over the last 20 years.

Work on the Link Point complex is at an advanced stage.

Meanwhile, groups that once used the Hut are now moving to the Parochial Hall.

It is expected the three-storey revamp, which includes an activity hall and a roof-top garden, will take two years to reach completion.