James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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406. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which he plans to promote positive mental health and suicide prevention at third level educational institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46707/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding, including the funding of student services, is a matter for the individual institution.

Student services and associated activities are an integral part of the whole student experience at third level. Student services support each individual student achieve his/her intellectual, cultural and social potential while supporting and complementing the formal academic programme. Student services can fall under a number of headings, particularly ‘Welfare and Guidance’ which includes counselling services, health promotion, careers service, multi-faith, racial and ethnic cultural support.

My Department also provides a range of services for students in HEA funded higher education institutions, including supports provided by Access Offices. In particular these offices co-ordinate pastoral and academic supports for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Among the supports administered by the access offices, in conjunction with student services, is the Student Assistance Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities.

The Student Assistance Fund

The Student Assistance Fund is managed by the HEA on behalf of my Department. This Fund is allocated annually to the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to support students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, whose participation in higher education would otherwise be at risk as a direct result of financial difficulties. The fund assists students with ongoing needs for financial support and students with other circumstances giving rise to short or longer-term financial difficulties, including family responsibilities, bereavement, family difficulties, accidents or health problems. In all cases, institutions are responsible for targeting the available resources at those students most in need.

Fund for Students with Disabilities

The purpose of the Fund is to support higher and further education institutions in ensuring students with disabilities have the necessary assistance to enable them to fully participate in their chosen course of study.  €10.5 million in support for students was allocated through the FSD in 2016-17. This Fund aims to ensure that students can participate fully in their academic programmes and are not disadvantaged by reason of a disability. The number of students in further and higher education supported by the Fund was some 12,000 students in 2016. There were 1,036 beneficiaries of the Fund in 2016-17 with a mental health condition. 

Mental Health Matters - AHEAD

AHEAD, the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability, is supported through an annual grant from the HEA towards the cost of the activities of the organisation. AHEAD is an independent non-profit organisation working to promote full access to and participation in further and higher education for students with disabilities and to enhance their employment prospects on graduation. In 2016, AHEAD in partnership with the National Learning Network (NLN), published a report called ‘Mental Health Matters’, a study into the experiences of students with mental health difficulties. The study found that the majority of HEIs have services supporting students with mental health difficulties and some institutions have dedicated services for students. The report made some key recommendations such as the promotion of mental health awareness to students on their induction, the provision of mental health awareness at institutional level for staff and institutions adopting a whole of campus strategic response to meet the needs of students experiencing mental health difficulties. Implementation of the recommendations is being progressed by AHEAD and its partners. Building on this report, on 7 December AHEAD is hosting a seminar ‘Staying AHEAD of the Stress’. This event will include discussion of models of practice that have been developed in higher education to support students with Mental Health Difficulties, for example the Student Central service in Maynooth University and the Unilink service in TCD.

The HEA also plans to work with the HSE to develop national guidance for higher education institutions in relation to suicide risk and critical incident response, thereby helping to address any gaps which may exist in the prevention of suicide in higher education.