[…]to make the necessary investment needed to bring the number of student counsellors up to the internationally recommended ‘safe and ethical’ levels. Colleges and universities in Ireland currently have only one counsellor for every 2,240 students, even though it is recommended by the International Accreditation of Counseling Services that there should be one counsellor for every 1,000 to 1,500 students. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has increased student mental health funding from €3 million to €5 million, but that figure has only been allocated on an annual basis, leaving these services unable to plan for the future. Ahead of Budget 2024, USI is calling for Government […]
[…]Minister Stephen Donnelly and Minister Mary Butler, We write to you on behalf of 374, 000 students on World Eating Disorder Day asking you to urgently assess the inadequate, under-resourced and underfunded eating disorder support services available in Ireland, with the intention of improving the services rapidly to meet the needs of the population. Eating disorders are more common than we think with many third level students developing eating disorders over the duration of their college terms. Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, reported that there has been a significant increase in people seeking their services, particularly the online […]
USI Encourage Students to ‘Share the Load’ on International Men’s Day Studies find that 8 out of 10 suicides are men (80%) Today, the Union of Students in Ireland and the 3ts have joined forces in suicide prevention and positive mental health initiative ‘Share the Load’ in IT Sligo. The initiative includes a public display of 105 backpacks, representing the average number of people of college-going age who die by suicide in Ireland each year. ‘Share the Load’ encourages conversation about the impact of suicide in colleges in addition to urging students to connect with the many mental health supports […]
[…]ICTU Youth, ISSU (Irish Second-Level Students Union), the Irish Rugby Union Players Association and Youth Work Ireland are all backing USI’s national demonstration. The demonstration, which is leaving the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm and marching to the Department of the Taoiseach, is supported by organisations comprising of 1,992,760 members, and will call on the Government and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills to choose the publicly-funded third level education model as outlined in the Cassells report. USI said the income-contingent loan scheme option from the Cassells report is not a viable solution to third level funding as […]
[…]day, and see the impacts, both immediate and long term, on them as they progress through education and graduate beyond college level. Systems, structures, legislation, as well as societal attitude and expectation heavily impact our female members trajectory, and ability to succeed throughout their lives. USI sees this as a fundamental moment in which the status quo, and the rate of change of mechanisms to advance equality, need to be challenged, improved, and re-energised. As the largest union in the country, USI sees its role as being integral to developing the National Women’s Strategy, particularly for a key cohort of […]
