Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 220: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she plans to make extra counselling services available to school in support of those who have been bereaved through suicide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32197/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of my Department provides an educational psychological service to primary and post primary schools. NEPS also offers support and advice to all schools in the context of traumatic incidents, including suicide. The level of support offered depends on the needs of individual students and the capacity of the school to respond. A school may, in the normal way, request a consultation with the school psychologist about a pupil who has experienced bereavement through suicide or may, with parental permission, request that the pupil meet with the school psychologist. Where necessary, NEPS cooperates with the HSE in catering for the needs of these pupils.

All post primary schools receive ex-quota hours to provide a guidance and counselling service to their students. The number of hours allocated to each school is based on its enrolment. From the beginning of the 2005/06 academic year, all schools in the Free Education/Block Grant scheme with a student enrolment of 200 or more received an increased ex-quota allocation. In addition, beginning in the 2006/07 academic year, all schools included in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) initiative received a further increase in their ex-quota allocation for guidance and counselling. Qualified guidance counsellors, working in second level schools, are trained to provide counselling support to students.