Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Farrell for raising this important issue. We had quite a good discussion with regard to disabilities in the previous session. This session has been dominated by the issue of accommodation. I am glad this issue has been raised because I have a particular interest in it.

Well-being and student mental health are priorities for me and the Department. Higher education institutions receive funding from a variety of different sources that contribute to the provision of mental health supports to students, including through recurrent funding allocated by my Department through the Higher Education Authority.

Recognising the pressures on students arising from Covid and cost-of-living issues since 2020, the Department has provided a total of €20.9 million in additional funding to HEIs to support mental health measures for students on their educational journey. This funding is also provided to support the implementation of the national student mental health and suicide prevention framework. Institutions in receipt of this funding are encouraged to distribute it in support of specific student-facing areas, including the recruitment of additional student counsellors, assistant psychologists and head of service posts; training of staff to enable them to support and refer students to appropriate services; and raising awareness among students of mental health and well-being services that are available, including through student outreach activities. The majority of new posts created through this funding have been counsellors, reflecting the capacity building phase of the implementation of the framework. Institutions have reported a breadth of positive impacts, from a reduction in engagement times to an increase in the number of sessions being provided to learners, which is the most important thing.

The further education and training strategy for 2020 to 2024 recognises the importance of supporting learners in mental health and well-being and commits to embedding it in professional development for staff and in the curriculum for learners. Mental health and well-being supports are a condition of funding within the annual funding requirements set out by SOLAS for the ETBs. SOLAS and the further education sector are committed to supporting all learners by providing high-quality, more inclusive, and flexible education and training programmes, including mental health support. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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