The announcement comes as students face a lot of uncertainty around the reopening of third level institutions. The fund is comprised of €3 million that had already been allocated for student mental health and wellbeing plus an additional €2 million in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The funding will be used to:
- Recruit additional Student Counsellors
- Recruit additional Assistant Psychologists
- Implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs; Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions
- Implementation of the soon to be published National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework
Mr Harris said: "The number one health issue for young people in Ireland today is concerns or worries around their mental health. These concerns have been compounded by the isolation and uncertainly brought forward by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For students, the college experience has been different this year from ever before. Students have had to adjust to remote learning and carried out without face to face support from their college or their peers.
“For these reasons, I have sought to support student counselling services, key mental health interventions and the provision of a safe, respectful, supportive and positive environment in our higher education institutions.
“This will help us support students as they return to college in this Covid world.”
