John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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124. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the increase in the number of students seeking counselling, further to the concerns expressed recently by an organisation (details supplied) regarding the fact that there is a six-week waiting list for students wishing to avail of such services; his plans and the timeline for dealing with the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28864/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The National Youth Mental Health Task Force Report, 2017 highlighted a significant increase in the number of students seeking to access counselling and also reported that there are long waiting lists in some institutions and gaps in provision.

Under the actions defined in the National Youth Mental Health Task Force Report and Connecting for Life – Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide 2015-2020 and Implementation Plan 2017-2020, the Higher Education Authority have committed to evaluate current service levels in higher level institutions and formulate a plan as to how to proceed once the review of existing services is complete.

A working group have been identified and will be convened by the Higher Education Authority to progress actions under the Connecting for Life (CfL) strategy. The group will include representation from the Department of Education and Skills, representatives of the higher education institutions, Student Counselling, Science Foundation Ireland, Union of Students in Ireland, Samaritans, Reach Out and Pieta House to consider and progress the HEA assigned actions in CFL.