Dr. Joseph Morning:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak to it today on the important topic of further and higher education and mental health. I am the mental health content editor at SpunOut, Ireland's youth information service run by young people for young people. We provide young people in Ireland with access to quality, non-judgemental information services with more than 181,000 readers relying on our information resources every month. We continually engage with young people through a range of exercises that give us significant insights into the challenges young people face when entering further or higher education.

As my colleague from Jigsaw knows better than me, findings from the seminal My World Survey 2 highlight that poor student mental health is a pervasive and problematic issue in Ireland. Roughly one fifth of the Irish student population experiences severe depression and anxiety and more than 10% of students reported a suicide attempt. Research conducted since the Covid-19 pandemic indicates further deterioration in student mental health. These findings reflect what we see on the ground. Since the start of 2021, our 50808 text support service has engaged in more than 2,000 conversations with young texters relating to further or higher education. Anxiety featured as an issue in 43% of these conversations, while 38% of texters talked to us about stress, 21% about isolation, and 15% shared that they were having thoughts of suicide.

Younger students are at an increased risk of mental health difficulties. For many young people in Ireland, entering further or higher education coincides with a key transition stage in their life. That comes with challenges and adjustments that impact on mental health. Young people are frequently presenting to our youth information chat service inquiring about whether they can defer a college course due to their mental health deteriorating. This underscores the need for sufficiently funded dedicated mental health support services that can provide students with the right intervention at the right time. We welcome the commitment of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, to the issue of student mental health and the recent allocation of an additional €5 million for student counselling and mental health services. However, we need a longer term strategy for the resourcing of mental health supports in these areas. College mental health services are facing a rapidly increasing wave of demand. We urge the committee and indeed the Minister to continue to advocate for dedicated Exchequer funding for student mental health services.

In 2020, the Higher Education Authority published its national student mental health and suicide prevention framework for Ireland. We see a number of elements of the framework as being particularly crucial going forward. First, students experiencing mental health difficulties need access to safe, well-resourced clinical supports that are culturally appropriate and inclusive for all. This is vital, because those who identify as LGBTI+, international students and those from ethnic minorities are all at higher risk of experiencing mental health difficulties. Our student population is also changing in terms of how students engage with their education. A traditional approach to student mental health that solely relies on on-campus supports is no longer accessible to all. Hybrid approaches that include digital and online support services are a cost-effective solution, but they are underdeveloped in higher education and need investment. The framework also calls for the development of universal preventative interventions to maintain the mental health of all students. Adopting such a universal approach helps to identify those most in need earlier and it normalises help-seeking. Providing the necessary mental health supports will require a professional workforce trained in the use of high quality, evidence-based interventions. We need the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to create more training places for clinical, counselling, and educational psychologists and to pay the associated fees for all trainees to ensure an equitable opportunity. We also need more mental health nurses, psychiatrists, social workers, occupational therapists and other allied health professionals.

Major steps must be taken to ensure further and higher education opportunities are genuinely open to everyone, especially those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. The first review of the SUSI grant rate in ten years provides a vital opportunity to support students.

We can and must set the SUSI grant at a rate that adequately covers the costs of engaging in further and higher education. I would urge the committee to adopt a broad, societal approach to the intersectional issues of mental health inequality, social exclusion and economic inequality when setting out recommendations on the future of mental health support in further and higher education.

Our student population has never been more reliant on us to deliver in the area of mental health. We need the investment, leadership and structures of accountability in pursuit of a vision where students in Ireland are supported to achieve and thrive in further and higher education and beyond.

I thank members for their time.