Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the role of the guidance counsellor in supporting and implementing the guidelines on mental health promotion and suicide prevention in view of the removal of the ex-quota allocation for guidance provision since September 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11967/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The guidelines on mental health promotion and suicide prevention are based on schools taking a co-ordinated whole school approach to preventing and, where necessary, tackling these issues. This involves building and integrating school self-evaluation processes, implementing the SPHE curriculum, developing the whole school guidance plan, adopting the NEPS continuum of support, and building effective interagency relationships.

With regard to guidance, the representative organisations for school principals and school management developed a framework that assists schools on how best to manage the provision of guidance from within their staffing allocation. This was a very positive and proactive response to a difficult budget decision.

Initial findings of a recent comprehensive survey by the National Centre for Guidance in Education on schools provision for guidance suggests that even through there has been a cut in the allocation schools continue to prioritise the guidance programme and within it have increased group work and class-based activity at senior cycle. This approach maximises the amount of time available for those pupils who need one to one support.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. This question follows on from the previous one and is closely related to it. Various surveys which have been published indicate a drop in guidance hours, including one by the Institute of Guidance Counsellors which indicated a 21% drop. The Minister provided details of a survey the Department did, which showed a 25% cut in guidance hours. The survey from the Institute of Guidance Counsellors showed a real hit as a result of the policy on one to one time, which has decreased by 50% since last year. The Minister's previous response, in which he stated he did not think resourcing guidance counselling was the best way to approach the issue, is a sad comment on the value he puts on guidance counselling in schools. It is something which was built up over years. We have people in schools who are well trained, but the Minister's approach, as the figures show, is leading to a drain on these hours and people who are qualified at counselling have to go back to the classroom. Will the Minister comment on where he sees the role of guidance counselling? If he really values it he must reassess his policy and the position he is taking on it.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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First and foremost I do value guidance counsellors. They have not been abolished. Against the background of the necessity to reduce expenditure across all heads of Departments I had a very stark option to meet the targets. One was to disimprove the pupil-teacher ratio across the entire post-primary sector, which would have had knock-on effects in terms of subject choice, and the other was to mainstream the guidance counsellors. I took the second option for reasons which were very compelling. I see that engaging the entire school in the process counteracts to a certain extent the impact guidance counsellors had in the past. Does it displace them? No it does not; it tries to rebalance the provision of this service in very difficult times against the overall reality.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister had another choice, which was to protect the education budget and fight at the Cabinet table to ensure education was protected in the current environment.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Is the Deputy serious?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Unfortunately this is something the Minister did not manage to achieve and as a result we have seen cuts in the education sector. Yesterday we heard how the Minister intends to deliver another €44 million in cuts in the upcoming budget.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is Question Time and I ask the Deputy to ask a question.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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In a pre-budget submission we protected the education budget along with mental health and disability services. I encourage the Minister in the upcoming budget to do the same.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I commend the Deputy's ability to defy reality in his pre-budget submissions. The trail of economic management from Fianna Fáil has left us with a mess we are still trying to deal with in real terms.