Mental health is a key priority area for my Department and this is reflected in the Programme for Government commitment to continue to support students experiencing mental health and wellbeing challenges.
I am pleased to tell you that as a part of Budget 2026 I am providing a 20% increase, representing an additional €1 million ringfenced funding, for mental health and wellbeing supports. This will bring ringfenced funding to €6 million per year to support mental health initiatives. This funding is in addition to other supports which are provided by institutions through the support of core funding.
The new funding will assist the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the higher education institutions (HEIs) in the implementation of the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework and the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework.
All publicly funded higher education institutions implement, progress and report to the HEA on the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework. In 2022, each institution officially signed up to the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework.
As autonomous bodies the internal disbursement of funding, including the funding and expansion of student services and mental health supports, is a matter for the individual institution so that they can best tailor their services to the needs of their students.
In line with national policy, institutions in receipt of the 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 the 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.
I have asked my officials to provide the Deputy with the detailed breakdown of allocation per Institutions.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
