Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is quite right. In the last budget, the Government provided €750,000 from the mental health budget to support counselling psychologists. As we know, clinical psychologists were already funded but counselling psychologists and educational psychologists were not. When I met with the Psychologists Association of Ireland, it pointed that out. Under my remit as Minster of State with responsibility for mental health, I was able to secure €750,000 to support counselling psychologists. My budget does not extend to the educational psychologists. That comes from the education budget. I am glad to get the opportunity to clarify this.

We are in talks with Trinity College Dublin and the HSE. With that €750,000, I will be supporting first, second and third-year students who start the academic year next September. You have to start some place.

See this speech in context