Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To go back to guidance counsellors, the witnesses will know this is a big issue. During the recession in 2010 and 2011, when there were significant cutbacks, guidance counselling was one of the services that was slashed. It has not come back to where it should be. I was listening to a debate on one of our national radio stations last week. Those involved were talking about the importance of guidance counsellors but also about the lack of them and how they had to double-job and hold other roles in the school.

I have been chatting to secondary school teachers since then. There is more of a need for guidance counsellors now than ever before. There are many more opportunities out there and many more avenues for going to college. There are many more ways and means of achieving one's goals in the context of taking various avenues if one does not have the results at the start. Is that an issue in Northern Ireland? Did the availability of guidance counsellors, North and South, form part of the research? Are there ways we could improve down here in terms of guidance counsellors?