Centre in row over gay couples services to close

Redundancies as marriage counselling centre closes in row over assistance to same-sex couples

A marriage counselling service which became entangled in a row over assisting same-sex couples is to close its doors, with its staff being made redundant.

The Irish Examiner revealed last October that the Cork Marriage Counselling Centre was at loggerheads with the Child and Family Agency, its principal funder, over the terms of new service level agreements which specified that counselling must be available to same-sex couples.

Tusla confirmed at the time it was withdrawing its funding to the CMCC, with no resolution to the issue despite months of talks.

This paper now understands that redundancy letters were issued to staff at the Cork city-centre facility on December 1, and that it will cease operating on December 19.

One staff member, who did not wish to be named, said they were disappointed that a centre which had operated for many years, and had worked with same-sex couples, was having to close.

The CMCC is a service of Cork & Ross Social Services and has been operating since the 1970s. It typically dealt with 1,800 clients annually and had been in receipt of between €250,000 and €300,000 a year in funding from Tusla.

However, with the passing of the marriage equality referendum, agreements had to be updated to reflect changes in the law — spelling out that same-sex couples must also be catered for by marriage counselling services if they are to continue to receive funding.

In a statement issued in October, the Cork and Ross Social Services CLG said the pulling of funding by Tusla — which accounted for 50% of the CMCC’s running costs — put staff at risk of redundancy.

“Following engagement with Tusla and the receipt of legal and financial advice, CRSS CLG was unable to sign the Tusla service level agreement,” it said at the time.

“The constitution of CRSS CLG sets out the objectives of the company which must be in accordance with the policies of the Diocese of Cork and Ross. Legal advice is that this particular provision means that CRSS CLG is precluded from subscribing to the service level agreement with Tusla and that, were they to ignore this provision, the directors of the company would risk being found personally liable for the consequences of so doing.

Additionally, the terms of the licence for the use of its premises state that the ethos and activity undertaken by CMCC cannot be inconsistent with the ethos of the Diocese of Cork & Ross.

The centre employed 13 people and one staff member said it had never turned away same-sex clients. They also queried why the CMCC was closing when other counselling services with a Catholic ethos remained open.

Efforts by this paper to obtain confirmation from Cork & Ross Social Services in relation to the impending closure were unsuccessful.