Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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651. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she plans to include the expertise of play therapists in her Department’s pilot project on mental health in primary schools (details supplied); if she will reconsider their inclusion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38182/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Education is committed to supporting the emotional well-being of our children. In view of the fact there is no single recognised counselling qualification and no national regulatory body for counselling in Ireland at this point in time, the Department has liaised with three main accrediting bodies for counsellors in Ireland the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapists in Ireland (IAHIP); the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP)) and the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) in relation to supporting the counselling pilot in primary schools.

This ensures that

• the high level of governance and quality that is required for this landmark project is achieved particularly in view of the highly sensitive nature of providing counselling for children.
• that the counsellors have appropriate training, skills and competencies to engage ethically, professionally and effectively with this age group.
• that the counsellors operate and adhere to the Code of Ethics of their relevant accrediting body .

In the absence of a single recognised counselling qualification and a national regulatory body for counselling in Ireland, we have looked to 3 large and long established accrediting bodies for counsellors to ensure that the counselling provided for this vulnerable population is of the highest professional standards and delivered by counsellors that have been through the rigorous accreditation process of these organisations. We have no doubt that in the coming months we will gather valuable insights and learnings which will inform future policy in this area.