Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Do our guests think there is a crisis in mental health in the third-level sector? What will happen if there is no intervention or proper planning? We have an opportunity here as we consider the future funding for higher education. We either take it or we ignore the problems and issues our guests have presented us with today. Is there a crisis? Can it deepen if nothing is done about it?

I ask Dr. Duffy how much progress has been made in the implementation of the existing policies, such as the national student mental health and suicide prevention framework. What are the greatest barriers to that implementation? In his submission, he referred to a fragmented and inconsistent approach. Are there disparities between different institutions in that regard?

I will also ask about inflation, the cost of living and the pressures on families and students. It seems rising inflation is here to stay. How big a factor will that be for the next 12 to 18 months in terms of the financial pressures on students? I know we did a survey last year - we are all surveyed out - to which nine out of ten students responded that they were suffering from financial stress, either extreme stress or stress because of financial circumstances, whether caused by Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, the cost of accommodation of the other costs of third-level education.