Irish Sudden Infant Death Association (FirstLight )

Lobbying Organisation Irish Sudden Infant Death Association

Date published 30 Aug, 2022

Relevant Matter Matters involving public funds

Public Policy Area Finance

Period 1 May, 2022 to 31 Aug, 2022

Specific Details Request for grant support to FirstLight to enable the organisation provide professional counselling and therapeutic support services to families in Ireland experiencing the sudden unexpected death of their children, in circumstances where the organisation provides these services free to bereaved families, where there are very limited State agency supports for such families, and where the HSE provides relatively small amounts of grant support to FirstLight.

Intended results Additional and continuing HSE funding for services to suddenly bereaved families.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Fionnuala Sheehan

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (2-5)

Requested the Minister for Health to extend the grant support provided to FirstLight on a one off basis in 2022 into 2023 and to increase the grant size. Also requested the Minister to include FirstLight's frontline worker, it's Clinical Services Director, as an eligible person for receipt of the Pandemic Payment within the eligible categories being drawn up by his Department.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Stephen Donnelly Minister (Department of Health)