Advice service may face closure

A counselling service for people on low incomes in Dublin has said it might have to close because of inadequate State funding…

A counselling service for people on low incomes in Dublin has said it might have to close because of inadequate State funding.

New Day Counselling in Meath Street has 75 per cent of its annual costs of £140,000 met by the Christian Brothers and the Holy Faith Sisters. It gets £9,000 from the State, but the Eastern Health Board accounts for nearly a quarter of its referrals, it says.

The present level of funding from the religious orders "will not continue indefinitely", according to the service's director, Ms Maeve Lewis. "If an alternative source of funding is not found it is likely that the centre will close its doors."