Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The 59% reduction in one-to-one counselling time to which the Deputy referred includes both the guidance that a child or young person might need to deal with issues arising in school, such as bullying or mental health problems, and career guidance support for young people. With a better allocation of resources and a reallocation of guidance counsellors' time, the supports that a child or young person might need for his or her mental well-being and in dealing with challenges are capable of being catered for within the new guidance counselling structure. The principal and leadership of a school have the best knowledge and experience to determine how exactly guidance resources and teaching resources should be allocated. Even as our budgetary situation recovers, hopefully, over the coming years, I do not believe we should reinstate that one dedicated guidance post. I do not think it is necessary because, with some innovation and imagination, we can end up with a more holistic guidance and counselling support service across all of the teaching community in a school. I do not subscribe to the assertion that teachers, as highly trained individuals and responsible adults operating in a school environment, do not have the professional capacity or knowledge to deal with a significant number of the issues that arise in their classrooms on a daily basis.

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