Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael)
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Well done to all of the contributors for coming before us. It can be daunting but they have represented their schools very well and talked about mental health issues and the challenges young people face. I thank everyone for their very detailed opening statements. The representatives of Coláiste Bhríde went through a lot of detail with us and I was struck by the amount of supports based around home-school community liaison schemes, etc. That is crucial but we now see that nearly one in four schools gets Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, funding and I believe there should be more. That is one of the things we have really increased both at primary and post-primary levels. Supports such as the home-school community liaison service, access to school meals and supports for more vulnerable students are happening in those schools now and, therefore, nearly a quarter of students receive these supports. Of course, more needs to be done.

A few people have mentioned the buddy programme and I would like to ask about it. To my mind, the programme is about understanding. We have had groups in here with us in the past few weeks who spoke about working on programmes at primary school level. The Minister has announced funding of €5 million for a pilot scheme to provide a counselling service and to help people with their mental health. We need to see that service provided in post-primary schools. I really like the idea of the buddy programme that has been mentioned. I would like to hear one or two examples of how students in schools can get involved in that because sometimes the transition from primary to secondary school can be quite difficult for young people. Can a representative of each of the schools tell me about the buddy programme? Ms Hynes, Ms Sheppard and Mr. Rawson mentioned the buddy programme in their school, Mr. Ahern mentioned the transition idea, and Mr. Sharpe is a past pupil who accompanied Ms O'Leary, who is currently a student, but works as a buddy and is still involved. Perhaps all of them could comment on how students benefit from a buddy programme. I ask because I believe a buddy programme can help people to build empathy when dealing with mental health issues, and I am a member of the mental health committee. I want to know how can we build resilience in people and ensure people have empathy for others and understand how to help and support one's fellow students.