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Updated 12.30
MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP counselling service Relationships Ireland has ceased operations and will begin the process of winding up the company.
The board of Marriage and Relationships Counselling Services took the decision yesterday and has said that legal process will begin today.
Eighteen employees have been made redundant and the contracts with a further eight counsellors have been terminated. Redundancy benefits will be paid to those affected by the decision.
Board members of the company serve on a voluntary basis.
In a statement, the directors of the company have said the decision was made because the organisation “could no longer maintain solvency in light of a challenged funding environment and increased operational costs”.
While those challenges have been visible for some time now, and the board has been working hard to find a basis to overcome them, matters were brought to a head in recent weeks when it became clear that a further increase in operating costs was unavoidable on foot of an upward only rent review on the RI premises.
The statement from Relationships Ireland is currently the only information available on its website.
Staff were informed yesterday that the organisation would cease operations with immediate effect.
In the past, Relationships Ireland would have dealt with 400 clients annually, with 250 clients going through programs at any one time. The company is now in the process of informing clients of the decision and will be providing support to find alternative arrangements for them.
The charity regulator as well as Tusla have been informed of the the winding up of the organisation and a meeting with the company’s creditors is expected to take place in two week’s time.
“The board is determined to affect the wind up in as efficient and orderly fashion as possible and with the least possible disruption or negative impact to all parties”, according to the statement released by the board.
Relationships Ireland was founded in 1962 which provided services to both couples and individuals to overcome difficulties in their relationships or to help prevent further problems.
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If Dublin City Council really want to maximise O’Connell Street’s potential as the premier street in the city then investment in all surrounding areas like this is a must.
The north O’Connell Street regeneration with Moore St should take in the Parnell Sq area including the Garden of Remembrance, Hugh Lane gallery and the new Dublin library which will open next door in the old Colaiste Mhuire site. The Gate and Ambassador theatres are also there with the Savoy and GPO a stone throw.
It’s an area with a lot of potential to be a cultural quarter, whether they have the foresight or not is another thing.
€9 pints on Moore Street, can’t wait…
Great, so we’ll be expecting the council to allow a tesco and a McDonald’s to be built there soon enough
Don’t forget the rezoning too!!
Well we can’t all afford to shop in M&S and dine at The Gresham.
Why another tacky temple bar? Why not a historical, well kept area like you get in continental Europe?
Did you even make an attempt to read the article???
It clearly states “Haughey, the late Fianna Fáil Taoiseach, is widely credited with spearheading the regeneration of Temple Bar, which is now effectively the city’s ‘tourist quarter’ – however, initial plans for the area envisaged a cultural district, with an emphasis on galleries and art studios rather than bars and food outlets.”
Give the partisan bigotry a rest and get on board with a great plan for inner city Dublin/our shared national heritage.
The only thing I want to see on Moore Street is some salt of the earth woman offering me apples 5 for 50 just like the good old days.
Ps, Where will all the junkies go now!?
All the human beings with serious mental and addiction issues that cost more to the state on street than they do housed and working?
Oh I’m sure we can just continue to treat them like crap like we’ve always done.
All 5000/6000 of them need help and a lot of them need dual assistance as many have both mental and addiction issues. This was highlighted on rte prime time last night. Solutions involve safe injection centres, decriminalisation, drug testing kits, training of gardai for overdoses and supoort/social housing.
Yes and all of of these “safe places” should be in the city centre for the convenience of it all.
While we are at it lets build a few more blocks of flats in central locations, over looking a nice park maybe? With all mod cons of course. This way all of the victims of the world don’t need to travel far to avail of the services.
That’s just outrageous. You offer no solution except a paragraph making up stuff about mine?
Moore st is not really a haven for junkies. Moore lane, O’Rahilly parade and henry place; leading onto the henry st/o’connell st/north earl st intersection is. And no matter what is done to combat illegal activities and anti social behaviour of drug addicts in the inner city, unless there is (a)spaces in prisons and judges willing to fill them, (b) proper treatment of addiction without criminalising use, (c) secure housing for the homeless; the problem will always just move.
The simple fact of the matter is that government doesnt care about the marginalised in society. Public sector workers are having pay cuts reversed while we still run a defecit and many public services have not been restored let alone improved. Priorities are all wrong. We need solid action. Im not saying we should go as right wing as phoenix sheriff joe arpaio, but something similar to tent city for any sentence up to a year or two could ease the pressure on the prison service, stop the revolving door, and provide labour for public works. Use the money saved to invest in proper detox programs that provide secure housing afterwards.
Stay in this accommodation is subject to a 12 month probation and involves either work in public services or employment training. If these terms aren’t met, back in the tent city for two months. Either that or someone willing to put themselves forward to house them, family etc. And the need to participate in training/public work remains until employment is found.
Last thing Dublin needs is anything remotely like god awful temple bar.
Another Temple Bar…..
Great! The first one has worked out so well.
Fianna Fail making another attempt to reinvent the wheel.
I remember as a child being enthralled by Moore st, especially around christmas time. We would all go into town to see the magnificent christmas windows Arnotts used to have and wander around for the day. I remember the women calling out all their special offers. It a memory I will have forever, sadly it was never be experienced by my kids…everything is so commercial now
Christmas windows and shouting of special offers?
Sounds like your experience was always commercial
Kevin…they used to do lovely windows, puppets and dolls, winter themes..all kid orientated. Nothing to do with what was instore..they were brilliant, and its a memory i will cherish…no need to trash it for me.
Anyway its friday..you should be winding down for the weekend
Kid orientated commercial merchandising.
I’m not ruining your memories just highlighting the fact when you said “its all gone commercial now” it was in fact always commercial.
Lets not fall out kevin…after all its only more FF waffle
Tis
Was Arnotts non-commercial in those days, or something?
Remove the thieves,junkies,winos and other dross!
I agree Glen, get rid of the “ethnic” shops in Moore Street and bring back the ladies with their stalls!
Winos and dross?
You want to ban ethnic people?
What’s wrong with ethnic shops?
No I would prefer if Moore Street retained its Irish character hence these shops are out of place there.No problem with them elsewhere.As for junkies yes need to be removed from central Dublin, they are the cause of lots of crime and and anti social behaviour.
What sort of shops would you put there then Gus – bacon and cabbage shops? Irish people eat more Chinese food than bacon and cabbage nowadays. And you’d be hard-pressed to find many shops in Dublin draped with Irish flags like the Chinese shop in the picture above. These are genuine local businesses set up by local residents who are, whether you like it or not, Irish. This is entirely in keeping with the history of the street. I’d rather have what’s there than more Lidls and Tescos and chain restaurants.
Sweet jesus, an urban redevelopment company, a bunch of carpet bagging vultures is all that means. That’s moore street even more f**ked than it was
FF and the Haughey legacy. Great article from the Feb/March last in the Phoenix concerning commercial properties – “The Haughey lease”. The dept of Justice buildings on 74-76 St Stephen’s green were set up by him as minister for justice in 1963 as a 75-year ratchet upward-only rent review lease benefitting landlord Dr Colm McDonnell.
Then John Byrne of the Carlisle Trust Ltd benefitted by replacing the Carlisle buildings at O Connell bridge with the 11-storey O Connell bridge house which in 1964 housed the OPW for a 35-year ratchet rent lease.
The adept of Agriculture, Kildare Place – Haughey again, as minister for Finance, didn’t enable State ownership but appeased developers by not only providing the standard Commercial lease of 5-10 years and instead created a 150-year lease ending in the year 2123. How creative! Who benefits? Irish Life. By 1984, only 11 years after the building was complete (Agriculture House), Irish Life was already collecting as much in rent per year as it cost to build in the first place.
FF are gangsters, as are FG and Labour. Out with them. They all have left a filthy legacy. The current mob are crashing our future daily with mindless subservience to the Troika and the Corporations. The people are asleep.
I’m not sure why a ‘big picture’ plan is needed (did someone say centenary bandwagon election manifesto?). Take the three relevant terrace buildings and finally put some museum there. The traders on Moore Street have been there long before us, so who is it for someone here and now to say that they can’t trade there anymore? (Which I’m sure is what is envisaged in this regeneration). So the museum and a touch-up would suffice.
Is they want to do something useful, put some effort into making O’Connell Street a nicer place to be rather than simply putting down a load of drab granite. Incentivise something a little better than fast food outlets to setup there. Some brainstorming: close it off to traffic after a certain hour, allow bars to setup outdoors with canopies and outdoor heaters, etc.
It’s not some sort of national treasure FFS, it’s a run down hovel in a run down part of town. Knock, rebuild, and put in the right mix of commercial, leisure, residential, and kick the place back to the first world. One sure way to lose the junkies, howeryis, scrotes and skangers.
Where do you want to send all the homeless people?
So we should just get rid of a market which has been there for 200 years and replace it all with a glass box and a shiny new centra? How did that work out for Smithfield?
Two words: Les Halles. Look it up. Seemed to work out pretty well…
Paul McAuliffe enough said!
Well done to all involved with this proposal excellent idea.
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