Madam, - The contents of your feature "The secret of happiness" (Weekend Review, November 8th) came as no surprise to us at Marriage and Relationship Counselling Services.
What does come as a surprise to us is that, in the face of overwhelming evidence from numerous studies published both in Ireland and other countries, the Government continues to invest so little in organisations such as ours.
We offer not only counselling but also workshops to develop the skills highlighted in the Ceifin Centre report as necessary to sustain healthy family relationships. For these we receive no financial support from the Government because we are told that this is outside the remit of the Family Support Agency.
We remain incredulous that money is available for a wide range of projects, such as the Spire, which benefit the Irish people not one iota, yet no funding is available to us to teach people how to confront and resolve conflicts, how to be more effective parents and step-parents and how to deal with the anger that leads to domestic abuse.
We sincerely hope the forthcoming Budget will increase the provision to organisations such as ours that do so much - with so little money - to sustain family life in Ireland. If an extra €1.5 million can be found for a private racecourse, I am sure extra money can be found for support for families. - Yours, etc.,
E.A.T. EVERETT, Chief Executive, Marriage and Relationship Counselling Services, Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.