Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister himself said, access is the key. There is no point in having fantastic mental health services if only 2% of the students who need them can actually access them. USI conducted a survey on access and prior to Covid-19, over 25% of students were waiting more than four to six weeks for mental health supports, which is over half of a term. That was the situation prior to Covid-19 and we are going to see an increase in demand now, given what has been happening. I am doubtful as to whether the €5 million referred to is an actual increase in funding. What will it actually mean in terms of delivering extra services? I do not think it will come anywhere near what is required when one considers that in terms of the rest of the education budget, we are talking about hundreds of millions of euro. A sum of €5 million for mental health seems to be minimal. I hope I am wrong and that it will benefit students because I believe there will be an increase in demand for services this year. We must step up to the mark and make sure that the demand can be met.

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