Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 November 2021
125. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the mental health supports and strategies in place to support students in further and higher education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58628/21]
View answerThe support and wellbeing of our students is a priority for my Department, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the increased stress and pressure resulting from it.
In 2020, a total of €5 million was provided to address student mental health and wellbeing in higher education. HEIs were requested to distribute funding to student-facing services such as:
- Recruitment of additional Student Counsellors;
- Recruitment of additional Assistant Psychologists;
- Head of service posts for those HEIs employing more than 2 FTEs;
- Implementation of the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework;
- Supporting Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide and the Connecting for Life network;
- Implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs.
The 2020 funding has contributed to the following overall outcomes regarding mental health and wellbeing:
- increased capacity for students to avail of mental health services., especially in the provision of one-to-one sessions, and also, access to psychologists and psychiatrists;
- additional and significant provisions offered include webinars, group sessions, online forums and the development of regular newsletters and e-zines, as well as increased social media presence;
- innovative outreach events and workshops were also instigated and reported on by HEIs and these provisions catered for consent, suicide prevention, addictive behaviours and vulnerable groups.
- One HEI reported on the development of an anonymous mental health screening mobile app, which has the twofold effect of increasing capacity, while at the same time, increasing the reach of mental health services;
- HEIs have developed systems and structures for improving services and other activities. For example, in larger institutions, more efficient case management and triaging processes have been implemented;
- HEI staff have been able to avail of training sessions on mental health, thereby, raising the profile internally within HEIs of what services and supports are available for students;
- all HEIs reported a reduction in waiting times, with some HEIs offering rapid access resources. It is significant also, that proactively reaching out to students, rather than waiting for students to contact Mental Health services, has become the prevalent methodology of engaging with the student cohort.
Funding allocation for 2021/2022 includes 5 million euro for mental health and wellbeing student supports, to build on the work carried out to date.
An allocation of €10 million has also been made to the Mitigating Against Educational Disadvantage Fund for this year. This Fund supports educationally disadvantaged learners in accessing and participating in further education and training. It also enables investment in building the digital infrastructure of FET providers and their online learning capability. This supports online delivery in a way that meets the complex needs of all FET learners, and ensures that these learners have the skills that will allow them to effectively participate in their programmes.
