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

The evidence shows there has been a reduction of 59% in one-to-one guidance counselling time since the Government introduced the cuts. The Minister of State referred to a framework his Department is trying to develop with principals to govern how guidance counsellors should operate. I remind him once again of the framework that was put in place a number of years ago to ensure that guidance counsellors are professionally supervised and trained in counselling, particularly in one-to-one counselling. It is a service that requires training and people who know what they are doing. In essence, the Minister of State is saying that subject teachers who do not have professional counselling skills will be expected to consider this work as part of whole-school guidance and an activity in which they can comfortably engage. Is the Minister of State comfortable with allowing teachers who have no qualifications in counselling to counsel vulnerable children, while at the same time insisting on the highest standards of counselling from those who are qualified to do so?

This is an exceptionally important service. Students are encountering more difficulties with mental health now than they have in the past. The incidence of self-harm is increasing. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, recently spoke in a radio interview about her plans to deploy nurses with relevant qualifications to accident and emergency departments to deal with people presenting with mental health problems. When people present to accident and emergency departments they have already been failed by the supports that should be on offer in the community and schools.

The Minister of State is trying to deflect from this issue by minimising the impact of the 59% reduction in one-to-one counselling time. This is not something the Government should stand over because it is not safe or fair to children who need support from our school system and the State. The matter needs to be reconsidered with a view to reinstating supports for guidance counselling in schools.

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