Mr. Dominic Layden:

I agree with Deputy Mitchell O'Connor that it starts with the home, but we also have a responsibility. The Department of Education and Skills has a responsibility. This is not merely a health issue; this is an education issue. The Department of Education and Skills has a responsibility to ensure that our children have those skills. At present, the SPHE programme finishes when students reach 15 years of age. The reason we are going into the schools is because the schools are asking us to come in.

When we go into the schools, we have professional trainers who go in to deliver. We used to have volunteers who might have come in and given their own personal experience. We stopped all of that. We ensure that it is a standardised programme that they are delivering and we independently evaluate those. There is an inspection that goes on with all of those trainers to ensure that they are delivering the content that we have asked them to deliver.

If one sits in the classroom, it is interesting to hear the children and the questions that they ask. They ask relevant questions. One might be surprised to hear them. In many cases, they are actually quite well informed about depression and mental health. More often, we hear they are aware of it because of what is going on in their families. One will hear a question asked about what is going on in the pupil's family or an example of something. They are quite well aware that if there is a relationship breakdown, financial pressures or the loss of a job in a family, it has an impact. That is what we are here to do in our education programmes.

The second question related to stigma. Many come to organisations, such as Aware, Console and Pieta House, in times of crisis and we deal with the individual at that point in time. Since Aware was founded 29 years ago, and the other organisations that are here were founded, there have been massive changes in perceptions of mental health in Ireland. It has changed significantly. Earlier mention was made of the change in the law, but a variety of changes have taken place. However, there is one area that has probably been neglected, that is, the workplace. It is important to recognise there is a growing trend. If one watches companies, particularly the foreign multinationals coming into Ireland, they will have wellness programmes, and these are connecting diet, mind and body. One will find there are a number of organisations that have wellness managers operating. They are coming to us asking what training we can give their managers and HR staff, and what we can provide to their employees, because there are plenty of staff in their work environment who are experiencing severe stress from career change and additional work pressures. We are responding by trying to deliver programmes to the workplace. I believe that as we do that, as we engage in the workplace environment, it is another way of trying to reduce the issue of stigma.

The final point I would make is this. I believe there are too many agencies. I fully respect how in agencies and among individuals, when a tragedy occurs in a local community, there is a natural response. I fully accept that. However, there is an issue. The State has limited resources. There is austerity. Obviously, the Government is working in a challenging environment for the next few years. The private sector is funding a lot of this stuff. I mentioned at the beginning of the presentation that when one asks what organisations the public thinks about first in mental health, the public thinks of organisations such as Aware, The Samaritans, Pieta House and Console. That is where the people come to first. That is not in any way to speak ill of the State or to cherry-pick. That is where the people go when they have an issue. That is where we are called in. However, as for where we fund it, 92% of our funding comes from the private sector, which I am sure is like a lot of other organisations.