Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
34. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the measures he is taking to address the current shortcomings in the provision of mental health supports for third level institutions. [9112/24]
View answerThe mental health and wellbeing of students is a priority for me and my Department.
Institutions receive funding from a variety of sources that contribute to the expenditure associated with the full range of institutional activities. Funding includes recurrent funding allocated by my Department to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to HEA funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The HEA allocates this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies the internal disbursement of funding, including the funding of student services and mental health supports, is a matter for the individual institution.
My Department has provided an additional €20.9 million through the HEA to HEIs since 2020 up to 2023.
This funding consists of a core allocation of €2m, as well as an additional €3m, annually to help alleviate pressures in the area of student mental health arising from COVID in 2020 and 2021, and was continued in 2022 and 2023.
This funding is to assist the HEIs in implementing the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework (2020).
In 2022, the HEA formally took over the implementation of the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework. This Framework aims to embed health and wellbeing more broadly within institutions and provides strategic direction on developing a whole-campus approach to health and wellbeing.
HEIs in receipt of this funding are encouraged to distribute it in support of specific student-facing areas, such as:
• Recruitment of additional Student Counsellors
• Recruitment of additional Assistant Psychologists
• Head of Service posts
• Training of staff to enable them to support and refer students to appropriate services
• Raising awareness among students of mental health and wellbeing services 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.
HEIs have reported a breadth of positive impacts, from a reduction in engagement times to an increase in the number of sessions provided.
In 2022 I also made €900,000 available for supporting Ukrainian students registered in Irish HEIs and who are in Ireland under a temporary Section 60 order.
The funding allocation in Higher Education for 2024 will also total €5m.
The Further Education and Training (FET) Strategy 2020-2024 recognises the importance of supporting learners in relation to mental health and wellbeing, and commits to embedding it in professional development for staff and in the curriculum for learners. Mental health and wellbeing supports are a condition of funding within the annual funding requirements set by SOLAS for ETBs. When engaging with younger learners and in particular those most at risk of social exclusion, there can be an increased need for the availability of mental health supports.
In May 2023, Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) launched the Framework for Further Education and Training: Mental Health and Wellbeing which seeks to:
• generate a clear definition and understanding of mental health and wellbeing,
• review supports currently available to FET learners, and
• help provide guidance to FET institutions on how they can support learners and respond to mental health and wellbeing critical incidents in a consistent, planned, and structured way.
The Framework is grounded in, and consistent with, the principles of Universal Design for Learning in FET, and recommends, at its foundation level, the promotion of positive mental health for all learners, through more individualised supports and supports for dealing with critical incidents.
ETBI has collaborated with Jigsaw on the new ETBI FET Learner Mental Health & Wellbeing Framework – Level 1 Accreditation. This accreditation aims to recognise the work of staff and/or learners throughout FET, and celebrate, support and spotlight the projects and initiatives that promote the mental health and wellbeing of learners.
