Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend each and every one of the delegates on their very insightful presentations. The content was very impressive. Dr. Bates founded Jigsaw. We have a branch in Tullamore, in my constituency. It is doing very well along with other mental health organisations. What impressed me very much was the fact that there is a youth advisory panel. The young people are leading the organisation, which is fantastic because they obviously influence their peers. It is a very good way to structure an organisation. I commend Dr. Bates on that.

I am aware of the guidelines on mental health presented to primary schools. Will a programme be rolled out at national level? If so, access to counsellors will be required. Would it be best to do that through the HSE or NEPS, which we currently have in schools? If we introduced a positive mental health programme, would it be best to introduce a programme on its own or integrate it into the SPHE curriculum? The latter would be ideal for a strand on a programme such as one covering mental health. This is vital in our schools. As a teacher, I note the need for it has increased dramatically over the past ten years. It is something we need to be on top of, and we certainly need to have our teachers trained and prepared.