Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy may be aware, as part of Budget 2023 I secured €750,000 to fund counselling psychology training places, as a way of moving towards greater equality for students who are training as counselling psychologists and bringing the funding model for counselling psychologists closer to that of clinical and educational psychologists. The funding, which is sustainable and recurring, highlights this Government’s commitment to investment in training and education which is directly linked to the provision of healthcare services in this country.

Counselling Psychologists undertake years of training at Undergraduate and Masters level, prior to undertaking a three year Doctoral course which involves intensive academic research and work experience. On graduation, Counselling Psychologists make a significant contribution to the delivery of mental health services in both acute and community care settings. Graduates from the Counselling Psychology doctoral programme go on to work in areas such as Counselling in Primary Care (CiPC) and for the National Counselling Service (NCS) and other frontline counselling services.

This funding is recurring, commencing with students enrolled across all years of the counselling psychology doctoral training programme from the academic year 2023/24 onwards. The investment in the education of these professionals is linked to the recruitment challenges and service provision needs of HSE counselling services.

The total allocation for mental health services in 2024 is approximately €1.3 billion, which is the fourth year in a row in which the mental health budget has been increased. This significant investment will enable continued policy implementation and service improvement in line with our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision. This year’s budget allocation builds on the investment this Government has made over the last number of years to deliver the policy priorities of Sharing the Visionthrough the provision of mental health supports across a broad continuum from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, to acute and specialist mental health service delivery, and enabling us to continue to deliver our vital services to as many people as possible, as we move into 2024.

As occurs each year following the Budget, discussions will now take place with the HSE on details relating to specific service initiatives in the context of preparing the HSE Service Plan 2024, including that for Mental Health.

In relation to the question raised, the Deputy may wish to seek the view of the Minister for Education as regards any additional funding for trainee educational psychologists in 2024.