Mr. Shane Martin:

There were a few questions but I would like to pick up on one of them to take advantage of my time. It relates to counselling in schools. Deputy Byrne referred to whether NEPS has the resources to respond in a clinical way to students in schools and we were asked whether we utilise outside agencies.

School-based counselling is the norm in many countries around the world. Some 32 of the 50 US states have school-based counselling within them, as do three of Canada's ten provinces, and one in six states in Australia. All experts know that prevention is key and that early intervention is critical.

In the context of our own system, it is important to acknowledge that guidance counsellors are ideally positioned to be the drivers of the new proposed well-being teams in every school, but only if they are allowed the hours necessary to deliver this service and to sufficiently utilise their skills and competencies.

We might talk about what we have and whether we need more, but it is a crying shame that what we did have has been taken away or reduced. The current Minister has conceded and compromised, but it is a matter or urgency that all previous hours rescinded for one-to-one work are restored in their entirety without further delay. That is an important point.