Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is objectively one of the largest increases we have seen for student mental health services in many years but whether it is enough is always a fair question. Do I want to continue to invest more? Of course I do. The Deputy asked what will happen with the funding and what the institutions will do with it and that is a key question. I have outlined in my answer what we want them to do with the funding. We want them to hire more student counsellors and psychologists and to beef up their services in order that students can get better access to what are, generally, high-quality services. We have given an allocation through the HEA to each individual institution and I will provide the Deputy with the full breakdown by institution. There is a degree of local flexibility in terms of what institutions can do because the situation varies from institution to institution. That said, I am not fond of money going into black holes or out into the ether and having to chase it for ever more so we have asked the HEA to report back on how that money has been spent and I will be able to keep the House updated in that regard.

See this speech in context