Mr. Derek Chambers:

It launched on 11 October. I was speaking to Ms Treasa Fox, my colleague from the Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education. She appeared before the committee recently. We do not have statistics yet, but they are on the way. The service started in the UK . They have a very good track record internationally, so we are looking forward to that. It is one part of the overall solution that will hopefully take pressure off the counsellors and other service providers. That also fits into our overall plans around digital mental health. It slots in within the layered care model of support. That is one thing to mention, particularly as it is relevant to the work of the committee.

Counselling and primary care became part of the remit of the national counselling service in 2013. It is receiving around 19,000 referrals per annum, which is 365 referrals per week. There are capacity issues. There are waiting lists and there is variance across the country in relation to the counselling and primary care service. We are aware of that. It is an area that is a priority for us under Sharing the Vision. Recommendation 16 under Sharing the Vision refers to talk therapies and their availability. Currently, the service is only available to people who are 18 years of age and older and medical card holders. We need to further enhance and increase the capacity of this service.