Vulnerable children and mental health supports

• Published date: 24 January 2023
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

At the Irish National Teachers' Organisation's annual congress last Easter, members expressed deep frustration regarding the inability of vulnerable children to access appropriate mental health supports in a timely manner. Subsequently in our budget campaign we called for a pilot scheme to deliver counselling services at primary school level and were delighted that our call was heard. We firmly believe that the learning from such a pilot scheme can hugely influence future provision for primary school children who experience mental health challenges

Four months after the budget was announced, we are concerned that Government has not clarified how the €5 million allocated will be spent. It is clear from this week's interim report highlighting long waiting lists, the lack of emergency Camhs services, the dearth of inter-agency work...