Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister does a fine job of making it sound as though secondary schools have a choice. He uses the word "discretion" and says they have the discretion to balance needs. The reality is that the Minister removed their choice and their ability to deliver this service. Does the Minister believe the role guidance counsellors carry out is important and has a real impact on students? It offers real assistance in terms of students' mental health, particularly for those experiencing difficulties within the school system. It also has a real impact in guiding students towards the next level and third level.

Let me bring some figures to the Minister's attention. For example, 9% of students who start first year at university do not progress to second year and 16% of students starting at institutes of technology do not progress to second year. Apart from the difficulty this creates for those students, it is also a significant cost to the State. The advice these students get from a guidance counsellor is critical.

Figures from the Irish career guidance survey indicate the time allocated for one to one sessions with students is only 41% of what it was prior to the cuts. Will the Minister revise the very short-sighted cut he introduced and examine the impact it has had, the damage it does to students and their futures and the knock-on costs at third level and reintroduce the previous allocation in order that career guidance can be restored?

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