DESPITE having double the population of some West Cork towns, Clonakilty doesn’t have its own family resource centre.

After unanimously agreeing with a motion tabled by Social Democrat Cllr Isobel Towse, members of the West Cork Municipal District agreed to write to the child and family agency TUSLA and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality asking them to fund a centre for Clonakilty.

Cllr Towse said it is surprising that Clonakilty doesn’t have one considering there’s one in Skibbereen, Dunmanway, and Bandon and two on the Beara Peninsula.

The councillor said there is a perception that Clonakilty is a town of ‘privilege and affluence’ but she assured Council officials that there are lots families in the town dealing with poverty, social issues, and a lack of services, which leaves many families feeling as if they are struggling on their own.

The councillor said anyone out canvassing in Clonakilty would have seen these families and noticed the disparity in incomes.

She acknowledged that TUSLA is providing a support worker soon, but she said there is no dedicated work premises for that person.

Dunmanway has been suggested as a base of operations for the support worker, but Cllr Towse asked how people in Clonakilty who are disadvantaged, and probably don’t have a car, are supposed to get to Dunmanway.

‘Many don’t drive, or can’t afford fuel, and there is no bus to Dunmanway. You have to get a bus to Bandon first, if you want to get to Dunmanway,’ she pointed out.

Clonakilty does have a community and a youth centre, but both are maxed to capacity, and neither can deal with children in the 0-12 age range.

Clonakilty also has a homeless shelter for families, a direct provision centre, and 20% of all of its housing estates are allocated for social housing, yet Cllr Towse said there are still lots of families whose basic needs are not being met.