Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not agree with the conclusion reached by the Deputy. Given the state of where we are, and what we now know with regard to the whole school environment and the health required for it, the approach must be to make it everybody's concern in the first instance. The Deputy spoke about the guidelines for mental health promotion, and these suggest three states of intervention, namely, a whole school approach to begin with; then identifying those who might be at risk and need support; and then possibly taking them out of the ambience of the school itself to get detailed professional assistance appropriate to the condition in which they find themselves. This skill may not necessarily rest with the guidance counsellor in the school. This is a more integrated and holistic way of approaching it and it mobilises existing resources in a different way to the situation previously. Having heard the presentation and listened to the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and others I am convinced that given the situation we are in it is a better way to go rather than working back to the old system of guidance counsellors.

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