Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 8 November 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills
Mental Health Supports in Schools and Tertiary Education: Discussion (Resumed)
Ms Treasa Fox:
I am nodding in agreement. I will be honest. From where we were in 2019 and 2020 in terms of resourcing, the additional announcements of €5 million between 2019 and 2021 were really welcome. However, they have only been short-term contracts, so it is really difficult to say how far away we are, particularly in view of the tenuous nature of those contracts. In a couple of institutions those contracts will be finishing this month, next month and in January and February. If we are counting right now, we have those additional posts. In two months, we will not have them. Just to give an estimate, over the past couple of years, the authorities in Scotland allocated £11 million to recruit 80 counsellors to augment student counselling services there. I say estimated because we really cannot say categorically until we do a root-and-branch evaluation in each institution. There is wide variation across institutions as well.
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