Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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38. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to report on the progress made in supporting students’ mental health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26174/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The issue of mental health and wellbeing is an important issue for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

In terms of funding available to the higher education sector, institutions receive funding from a variety of sources that contribute to the expenditure associated with the full range of institutional activities.

My Department has provided €31.9 million to the HEIs through the Higher Education Authority (HEA) since 2020. As a result of this funding, HEIs have reported a breadth of positive impacts, from a reduction in engagement times with services to an increase in the number of sessions provided.

As autonomous bodies the internal disbursement of funding, including the provision of counselling services and other interventions to support student mental health, is a matter for the individual institution.

An ongoing review of the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework by the HEA has identified that in an Irish context there remains a need to develop appropriate indicators to measure ability to provide adequate levels of mental health supports to students in Irish higher education. A key issue highlighted by higher education stakeholders is the ongoing difficulty with referral pathways into other services for higher education students, particularly those with acute mental health problems or living away from home.

Following this review, the Framework will be revised in consultation with the HEA Student and Staff Health and Wellbeing Advisory Group . This revision of the Framework will include the identification of robust and meaningful indicators that can measure quality of provision and the ability of HEIs to provide adequate levels of mental health supports to students.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.