Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to revisit the cuts to the number of guidance counsellors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17552/13]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether the more marginalised children are suffering the worst effects of cuts to guidance counselling in schools; and his plans to have guidance and counselling staffed in an ex-quota manner. [17573/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 57 together.

The Minister for Education and Skills has already acknowledged to the House that bringing guidance within quota is challenging for schools. However the alternative was to adjust the PTR staffing allocations. The budget decision sheltered the impact for all DEIS post-primary schools by improving their standard staffing allocations. There are no plans to review this decision. It is important to note that the provision of guidance in schools is a whole school activity and it does not just involve the guidance counsellor.

Initial findings of a recent comprehensive survey by the National Centre for Guidance in Education on schools provision for guidance would suggest that even though 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 that need one to one support.