Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The finding of the audit undertaken by the guidance counsellors was supported by the review of the National Centre for Guidance Excellence which recommended the restoration of the ex-quota allocations for guidance. I accept that guidance is a whole-school activity, as the Minister said, but there is a need within schools for somebody to drive that. As a result of cutbacks, the middle management layer in our schools, particularly voluntary secondary schools, has been eliminated, resulting in the onus being much more on principals. This means they have too much work to do to be the driver of this.

What we have within the guidance counsellor is a person with a basic qualification. I know, as I am sure the Minister does, that many guidance counsellors have done considerable courses in counselling and psychotherapy in their own time and at their own expense. These people are not being fully utilised. I will not argue with the Minister in regard to the statistics and the manner in which they are collected, except to say that I am speaking about people already in the system and the impact of cuts in this area. At a time when there is great emphasis on mental health and the promotion of mental health, we are eliminating a group of people who are highly skilled and can be part of that process. We are missing out on those skills.

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