Ms Moira Leydon:

I do not see any logic to the Minister for Education not extending it to post-primary. It is almost a default mechanism to do a pilot. The problem is that our experience of pilots in this country is that they can last for 20 years. We are a bit cynical. I am sorry; it is never a healthy political attitude to have. We will call on the Minister to extend it. I referenced the prevalence of mental health difficulties. Adolescence is the prime time for these difficulties to manifest. If we are not in a space where adolescents can get early intervention and support, that is a failure to help because that is when they need it. They also need it later on, but getting in there now we have remediation, as distinct from dealing with a much more serious problem. We will be going formally to the Minister for Education and talking about the model and what the plans are for second level.

Going back to Dr. Downes's work, the key points are not that radical. They are about the transition from primary to second level, the gaps that exist and the staff in schools being unable to deal with challenging behaviour. Therefore, there is a vicious cycle of suspensions and expulsion. They are also about students who have no self-belief or self-esteem and therefore are poor learners and failing. Many of these issues can be addressed with appropriate resources in schools. We come before the committee all the time and we say that we want more resources, but this is the nub of the problem. There is an under-investment in schools. Teachers are not mental health workers. We are not putting other professionals in place in the school setting to address the holistic needs of young people. I am paraphrasing what Ms Ni Chéileachair said.