Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Deputy raising this issue and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has raised it with me on an ongoing basis as well. I recognise the considerable challenge experienced by all of those impacted by mica. I have met families and representative groups to discuss the issue and I want to confirm that my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, is engaging extensively with homeowners, as the Deputy will be aware, to develop an appropriate redress package for all those affected.

I am conscious of the submission from Donegal ETB seeking supports to assist those affected. My Department has a comprehensive range of supports in place to support the well-being and mental health of all students. These supports should be prioritised and utilised by the ETB to help address any mental health and well-being needs of those students who are affected by this issue. These supports include casework by psychologists from my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. Psychologists also work with school staff to build their capability to support the well-being and academic, social and emotional development of all pupils. Resources and guidance on managing stress, anxiety and panic attacks and on self-regulation are also available. NEPS has developed a range of workshops to build the capability of school staff in the promotion of well-being and resilience in schools, which include upskilling school staff on the use and implementation of therapeutically informed approaches in schools.

The Department of Health has responsibility for the provision of counselling services, and through HSE primary care psychology and child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, provides clinical support to children and young people with mental health requirements. My Department will continue to signpost schools and students to the HSE-funded mental health services. Significant additional resources have been made available to schools this year under the Covid learning and support scheme, CLASS, which has provided additional teaching hours to schools to support academic teaching and learning as well as holistic development and well-being. Overall, 3,930 hours have been allocated to Donegal ETB for the 2021 and 2022 school year in the CLASS.

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