Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

My understanding is that en enrolment of 500 pupils entitles a school to a guidance counsellor for 22 hours per week, which is a full-time post. This is graduated downwards for smaller numbers of pupils. If a school has an enrolment of 200, it is entitled to eight hours of career guidance and counselling. My understanding is that service is provided by an appropriately qualified person. Thus, it is incorrect, unless I misunderstood the Minister - I do not want to misrepresent him - to say that in some schools the service is being provided by non-qualified career guidance counsellors.

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