Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 221: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her plans to expand counselling services in post-primary schools to provide support for students with personal or mental health difficulties; the options schools have when their guidance counsellors do not have the skills set for dealing with such issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12147/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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All post-primary schools receive ex-quota hours from my Department for the provision of a guidance and counselling service to students. The service is delivered in the majority of schools by guidance counsellors who are qualified to provide counselling support to students. Schools can also use additional resources provided by my Department under various initiatives to buy in the services of a qualified counsellor/psychotherapist if they consider this necessary to meet students' needs. For example, schools participating in Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS), the School Completion Programme and the Guidance Enhancement Initiative (GEI) can, and do, use some of the resources received under these initiatives to buy in counselling services.

In cases where a student requires support of a specialist nature, guidance counsellors should arrange a referral to an appropriate outside agency. Procedures for the referral of students to an outside agency should be included in the school plan of each post-primary school. Guidance counsellors can consult with an assigned psychologist from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) with regard to individual cases, especially in relation to referral to an outside agency.

In the event of a critical incident, psychologists from NEPS are available to meet with individuals or groups of students over a short period of time. In some circumstances, psychologists from NEPS can engage with individual students for a number of counselling sessions when pertinent issues arise during a psychological assessment.

My Department provides funding to the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) for a programme of professional supervision for its members. In its first year, 75% of guidance counsellors participated in this programme which is operated through education centres on a national basis. Approximately 60 qualified counsellors provide support and advice on a range of counselling and mental health issues to the guidance counsellors who are participating in the programme. In addition, my Department provides funding to each of the sixteen branches of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors to support the provision of continuous professional development for the members of each branch.