Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that County Carlow was part of the second phase of the landmark pilot that rolled out counselling services in primary school settings, in-school support and in the form of education on well-being. As we know, mental health teams in clusters of primary schools are important. I ask the Minister about the follow-up. It is great to see intervention in schools but more is needed. In my constituency, there are no occupational or speech and language therapists, there is no CAMHS access and children's disability network team, CDNTs, are not fully in place. How does that work? Well done to the Minister on what she has done.

As regards recruitment for the mental health pilot in primary schools, my understanding is that it excludes play therapists. Will the Minister come back to me on that matter? It is a great initiative which I welcome. In County Carlow, it is absolutely welcome.

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