Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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274. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the progress made in relation to guidance counsellors for post primary schools in the context of the public consultation on the national policy group on lifelong guidance. [3933/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In 2022, Minister Foley established the National Policy Group for Lifelong Guidance. The National Lifelong Guidance Policy Group comprises senior officials from the Department of Education, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Department of Social Protection, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Department of Education chairs the group.

The National Policy Group steered the development of a coherent, long-term strategic framework for lifelong guidance addressing the recommendations of the Indecon report, the OECD recommendations on skills and the key messages arising from the National Consultation on Lifelong Guidance. The National Strategic Framework for Lifelong Guidance and accompanying Strategic Action Plan (2024-2030) were published in December 2023.

The vision for lifelong guidance, as presented in the Framework is for Ireland to:

“have a more unified guidance system, which will allow all individuals to have access to high-quality, holistic and appropriate lifelong guidance”.

The Strategic Action Plan contains 35 strategic actions to progress the vision for lifelong guidance. Implementation of these Actions has begun. An advisory group consisting of 12 stakeholder groups (and including several qualified and experienced guidance counsellors) met to discuss an approach to implementing this work. An immediate focus on the 19 short term actions, and on the annual Guidance forum, is underway.

With specific regard to post-primary Guidance, the Strategic Action Plan includes a number of actions pertaining to the post-primary sector both directly and indirectly. Several actions are already underway within my Department. To name one example,

Action 4.3 provides that my Department will ‘Explore mechanisms of increasing guidance counsellor supply through provision of training programmes.’ This action is in an advanced stage of development with a request for tender for two new post-graduate programmes being published in December 2023. In addition, several other actions are already underway to support guidance counsellors with their practice. A series of ‘Guidance Notes’ have been published to strengthen Guidance within the post-primary sector and my Department is actively engaging with Oide to provide resources and a comprehensive programme of CPD for schools. Other actions relating to the strengthening of post-primary Guidance as outlined in the Framework and Action Plan are in the early stages of implementation and are actively being progressed by the Guidance Unit.