Vital Donegal counselling service to continue after interim funding agreed with HSE and Tusla

Liam Cannon, Director of Counselling at Raphoe Diocesan Pastoral Services, welcomed the announcement that the HSE and Tusla have jointly committed funding to save the service from closure.

“The people of Donegal have made their voices heard and should be very proud to have this service retained thanks to this funding commitment from Tusla and the HSE.

“So many people have lobbied to have this service saved for the county and it is testament to the strength of communities across Donegal that it will now continue,” he said.

Based out of the Raphoe Pastoral Centre in Letterkenny, the not-for-profit community-based service has provided support to many thousands of clients in Donegal since 2010, delivering almost 15,000 counselling sessions in the last six years alone.

A total of 26 part-time counsellors, including 11 student placements, currently deliver the service in seven centres across the county — including Letterkenny, Dunfanaghy, Stranorlar, Creeslough and Buncrana.

Counselling is also provided by the Pastoral Centre at Hughie’s Corner in Carndonagh and Gemma’s Legacy of Hope in Dungloe.

The HSE said: “This proposal addresses the immediate issues that were highlighted by the Raphoe Counselling Service and it ensures the delivery of the Raphoe Diocesan Counselling Services for the foreseeable future.

“The HSE looks forward to continuing to work in collaboration with Tusla and the Raphoe Diocesan Counselling Services to meet the needs of people who require this important service.”

The Raphoe Diocesan Pastoral Services CLG Board of Directors said the annual funding will facilitate the creation of full-time roles for a Director of Counselling and a Counselling Coordinator, and two administrative personnel.

This commitment will ensure the survival of the only provision for child and adolescent counselling in Donegal and the continued provision of counselling services to adults.

Mr. Cannon said: “Everyone from service users and their families to the counselling staff, political representatives, healthcare professionals, the local media, and many others, have contributed to making this happen.

“In particular, special thanks should go to Donna Harper, who lost her daughter Leona (14) in the Creeslough tragedy, for her impassioned plea to the Government to save the service, and to the many other families of service users who lobbied hard for this funding.”

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