Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

That is correct.

The Minister's decision in December's budget to subsume the compulsory allocation for guidance and counselling into the general allocation of hours per school has undermined it as a career, will increase the vulnerability of students in need of support and will result in the loss of possibly hundreds of guidance and counselling posts. The Minister has left the Chamber. It amounts to another attack on some of our most vulnerable young people and shows a Government, under the banner of reform, that seems hell-bent on gutting some of our core educational services.

I listened to the Minister's speech tonight. He spoke in terms of freedom and choice, but where is the freedom and where is the choice? He stated a circular is on the way - I am sure there will be a hooray in schools about that. What he is really saying is that the budget cuts being implemented - the Government had choices and could put forward an alternative budget - will be the fault not of the Minister but of the school principal. He spoke of point scoring. Maybe this is point scoring, but it is wrong. In my opinion, the change of policy will cause significant damage to the education system that is already reeling from cuts to DEIS schools, the reduction in capitation grants, the suspension of summer works schemes, increases to the pupil-teacher ratios, hikes in contribution fees for students, cuts to CE schemes, increases in the cost of school transport and the reduction in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance.

The change to school guidance counsellors will cause considerable anger. There is disbelief in schools about what the Minister is trying to do in this regard. Advocacy groups such as Barnardos have clearly stated that forcing schools to choose between retaining a guidance counsellor or losing a core subject will have a significant impact on vulnerable children.

A number of teachers and educationalists to whom I have spoken have made the point that there does not seem to be any real understanding of the vital role of guidance counsellors within a school. Earlier, Members spoke about the role counsellors play in helping students arrive at important career choices. Perhaps even more important, they provide support, particularly in times of crisis. That is what everyone is concerned about in these changes.

Guidance counsellors are often the first point of contact for students when they experience difficulties at home. That is accepted by all sides in this House. They are one of the few free supports available to young people whose families cannot afford private counselling services. School principals should not have to choose between retaining a school counsellor and dropping a core subject, but that is what the Minister is saying tonight. This is freedom of choice. Is this autonomy? Nonsense.

Newly qualified teachers will find it even more difficult to secure a full-time teaching post and this will force more people onto the dole or to emigrate in order to find employment. Consideration must also be given to the fact that guidance counsellors will be expected to return to the classroom and teach a subject that many may not have taught for years. Has that been put into the equation by the Minister? The loss of guidance counsellors will probably result in the loss of IQ testing of incoming first years, psychometric testing of students, and aptitude and interest inventory testing.

Guidance counsellors fulfil an important sign-posting role in directing young people in times of crisis to the appropriate social service provider or health care professional. We all know that through our work with schools. We know we are on the verge of a deepening mental health crisis in the student community and the figures all stack up in that regard. Suicide, self-harm, family separation, violence, neglect and severe learning and behavioural difficulties are becoming more frequent in schools across this State. That is not me scoring points. That is teachers themselves coming forward about this. These cuts will mean that many students will be deprived of the only face-to-face listening service available to them, the only positive connection many will have with an adult - the Minister spoke last week about much of what happens to kids - and the only space to which they can go when they have nowhere else to turn. Most students between 16 and 18 will be left in limbo if they or their parents are unable to provide such supports.

The loss of guidance counsellors will greatly increase the strain on teachers working within the system and in the worst case scenario, could place lives at risk. In saying that, I am conscious of the burden being placed on teachers. The education system relies on the goodwill of teachers and those working within that system. That goodwill is been undermined and gutted. The Minister will lose that goodwill and all the extra tasks that those teachers do. At some stage, teachers will say that they are tired and have done enough. That is what the Minister is doing to this system.

I welcome the change on the moratorium on assistant principals and special duty posts in schools. There have been considerable difficulties in this regard and I suppose the fact that there are some changes there is to be welcomed.

I am concerned that these cuts will undermine the commitments enshrined in the Education Act 1998. I heard what the Minister stated in that regard.

This choice being put on schools is impossible. As I stated at the start, there were choices available in the budget. There could have been alternatives. The Minister is working within a budget envelope, but he is part of the Cabinet that decided that it would go down this track. There are many in society who have done extremely well in the good years and are still doing well, and the big question is: why should vulnerable children have to suffer when there is wealth in Irish society that could be tapped into? That is where the Minister needs to focus his ideas for the future, not on these vulnerable children.

Last week, on the back of a Sinn Féin Private Members' debate opposing cuts to DEIS funds, the Minister admitted to making mistakes and getting it wrong. That is fair enough. Similarly, he must now look again at the issue of guidance counsellors and the impact this will have on schools right across the State.

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