Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 May 2023
742. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will liaise with the Minister for Health to ensure that the pilot Together All Programme, funded jointly by the Higher Education Authority and the Health Service Executive, can continue and be rolled out to all technological universities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22495/23]
View answerThe Togetherall programme is jointly funded by the HEA and the HSE Mental Health Operations. This programme forms part of a broader HEA funded national project through PCHEI known as ‘Identify and Respond’ which includes the development of university staff training to identify and respond to at risk students.
The pilot Togetherall Programme provides a clinically moderated, 24/7 online peer-to-peer mental health community that empowers students to anonymously seek and provide support across Irish higher education institutions.
I launched the programme nationally on World Mental Health Day, 10th October 2022, 14 HEIs have implemented Togetherall in their university/college. As independent institutions, HEIs may choose to implement initiatives in accordance with their needs and some may already have other platforms in place.
To date the sector has not approached the HEA or DFHERIS with a formailsed request to roll the programme out beyond the period of the pilot. Should such a formalised request be received, a review of the pilot programme would be required. Procurement of any such programme on a long-term basis would need to be completed by the institutions involved in line with procurement rules.
The HEA delivers €2m per annum funding to HEIs to enable the delivery and enhancement of student mental health supports including service delivery through the recurrent funding model (RFAM).
In 2020, 2021 and 2022, an additional €3m per annum was provided to the HEIs to facilitate the enhancement of supports while institutions dealt with the challenges presented by the pandemic. Through this a number of national projects have been funded including supporting sector wide implementation of the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework and building capacity across the higher education system. I have also secured an additional €3m in funding for the 2023/2024 academic year.
