Professor Paul Downes:

My understanding of the Minister's initiative is that it is funded by the Department of Education. It is also recognising that many mental health issues have a knock-on educational impact and that is another reason for the key role of the schools in this. It is certainly not excluding the HSE. In the model proposed with the area partnerships and the area-based childhood programmes, they already have strong links with the HSE in their local communities. These are embedded in systems. The idea is that we have pre-existing systems and structures there. Maybe certain area partnerships or certain area-based childhood programmes are already more developed in their links with the HSE. I declare something of an interest; I chaired an area-based childhood programme for five years and was on an area partnership board for six years. I am no longer in those roles but am aware of the work they do on the ground. They can integrate with the different services to build on that network and their leaders state as much in the submission. I am not excluding family resource centres here, as they also operate on-the-ground counselling.