Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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7. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a survey showing a 59% drop in one-to-one guidance counselling hours since the removal of the ex-quota allocation to schools; his views on the impact of this cut on student welfare in view of the fact that the service is provided by trained guidance practitioners who are required to undergo constant professional supervision, which means this is not a service that can be safely provided as a whole-school activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23370/14]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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21. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is satisfied that there is sufficient provision for guidance counselling in place in our schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23376/14]

Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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28. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address the on-going concerns regarding the impact of guidance counselling cuts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23372/14]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 21 and 28 together.

The surveys cited by Deputy McConalogue focused on guidance counsellors and, in particular, on the time they spend in a one-to-one setting giving career guidance and student counselling. Guidance and counselling are a whole-school responsibility, with guidance counsellors playing their part within an overall team approach. The representative organisations for school principals and school management have developed a framework that assists schools on how best to manage the provision of guidance from within their staffing allocation. Wherever possible, group work and class-based activity should be used to maximise the amount of time available for those pupils who are most in need of one-to-one support. In February the Department of Education and Skills published a guide to developing student support teams in post-primary schools. This is an important resource for schools in promoting and protecting students' well-being and an aid to establishing a team or reviewing an existing team.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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As the Deputies who asked Questions Nos. 21 and 28 are not present, we have six minutes on these questions.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I asked the Minister of State specifically for his views on the fact that the survey found a decrease of 59% in one-to-one counselling time as a result of the cuts introduced by his Government. His response has been similar to previous replies from the Minister for Education and Skills, namely, that guidance counselling and guidance are a whole-school activity.

I draw the Minister of State's attention to a letter which issued to every principal in Ireland in second level schools and colleges of further education on behalf of the teacher education section of his Department. The letter requested principals to facilitate their guidance counsellors' attendance at professional counselling supervision on five occasions for two hours each time during the next academic year. This service, which is funded and overseen by the Department, was put in place by a previous Minister for Education and Skills to ensure that all the one-to-one counselling taking place in schools meets the highest ethical standards and that guidance practitioners receive constant professional supervision to ensure these standards are maintained. Given the often difficult personal issues that students raise in their interactions with guidance counsellors, I am sure the Minister of State will agree that the maintenance of such high professional standards is essential. Is he now stating that while those who are professionally trained and subject to ongoing supervision of their work as guidance counsellors have lost 59% of the time available to them to undertake this activity, the implications are limited because guidance should be a whole-school activity? That is not a situation anyone can stand over. I ask him to specifically address that point.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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In my earlier reply I outlined to the Deputy how the vast majority of guidance support will operate within the school community in future. The representative organisations for school principals and my Department have worked to develop a framework to allow schools to best manage the provision of guidance from within their staffing allocations. That puts a greater emphasis on group work and class-based activity and, for the significant majority of the role fulfilled by guidance counsellors, I argue that it is more than sufficient. Where the need arises for one-to-one support for young people, particularly where they experience mental health issues or other challenges, it is important that guidance and support are allocated to them as needed. Well developed and managed student support teams are central to the successful implementation of guidance, and two previous documents which have outlined how that might happen are the guidelines Well-Being in Post-Primary School, which were published in 2013, and A Continuum of Support for Post-Primary Schools, which was published in 2010. These documents provide a framework for schools to support students with social, emotional or academic needs, and their implementation will make a significant contribution to the general well-being of young people and provide a stable and supportive learning environment for all students.

Guidance counsellors have two distinct functions. The first is general career guidance and guidance on the educational opportunities a child or young person might pursue, while the second involves support for students' well-being. If a school manages its resources well in terms of guidance, I do not think either of those provisions will suffer at any point in the future.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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The evidence shows there has been a reduction of 59% in one-to-one guidance counselling time since the Government introduced the cuts. The Minister of State referred to a framework his Department is trying to develop with principals to govern how guidance counsellors should operate. I remind him once again of the framework that was put in place a number of years ago to ensure that guidance counsellors are professionally supervised and trained in counselling, particularly in one-to-one counselling. It is a service that requires training and people who know what they are doing. In essence, the Minister of State is saying that subject teachers who do not have professional counselling skills will be expected to consider this work as part of whole-school guidance and an activity in which they can comfortably engage. Is the Minister of State comfortable with allowing teachers who have no qualifications in counselling to counsel vulnerable children, while at the same time insisting on the highest standards of counselling from those who are qualified to do so?

This is an exceptionally important service. Students are encountering more difficulties with mental health now than they have in the past. The incidence of self-harm is increasing. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, recently spoke in a radio interview about her plans to deploy nurses with relevant qualifications to accident and emergency departments to deal with people presenting with mental health problems. When people present to accident and emergency departments they have already been failed by the supports that should be on offer in the community and schools.

The Minister of State is trying to deflect from this issue by minimising the impact of the 59% reduction in one-to-one counselling time. This is not something the Government should stand over because it is not safe or fair to children who need support from our school system and the State. The matter needs to be reconsidered with a view to reinstating supports for guidance counselling in schools.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The 59% reduction in one-to-one counselling time to which the Deputy referred includes both the guidance that a child or young person might need to deal with issues arising in school, such as bullying or mental health problems, and career guidance support for young people. With a better allocation of resources and a reallocation of guidance counsellors' time, the supports that a child or young person might need for his or her mental well-being and in dealing with challenges are capable of being catered for within the new guidance counselling structure. The principal and leadership of a school have the best knowledge and experience to determine how exactly guidance resources and teaching resources should be allocated. Even as our budgetary situation recovers, hopefully, over the coming years, I do not believe we should reinstate that one dedicated guidance post. I do not think it is necessary because, with some innovation and imagination, we can end up with a more holistic guidance and counselling support service across all of the teaching community in a school. I do not subscribe to the assertion that teachers, as highly trained individuals and responsible adults operating in a school environment, do not have the professional capacity or knowledge to deal with a significant number of the issues that arise in their classrooms on a daily basis.