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Press release

Minister Butler announces €750,000 in funding for new initiative to fund Counselling Psychology Training Places

€750,000 in financial support will provide:

  • 60% of fees paid (equivalent to Clinical Psychologists) for 10 students across all three years of their doctorate programme
  • one-year traineeship for ten first-year students each year
  • ten second and third-year students will each receive €3,500 sponsorship per year

Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, has announced details of a new initiative to support counselling psychology trainee places. The funding allocation of €750,000, from Budget 2023, will see financial support provided to students enrolled in the academic year 2023/2024 onwards.

The funding will be phased in, with new students enrolled from this year onwards receiving a total financial support package of €75,000 over the three years of their doctorate programme.

Minister Butler said:

"Counselling psychology is a critical intervention across a broad array of health care settings. In particular, counselling psychologists play a crucial role in the provision of mental health services, for both adults and children, across primary care and specialist mental health services and multi-disciplinary teams such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)."

The €750,000 funding will provide a range of financial supports over the three years of the doctorate programme:

  • ten eligible first year students, chosen following a competitive process, will each receive 60% of their fees and a one-year traineeship contract with the Health Service Executive (HSE), worth just over €40,000. Each student who signs up for the one-year traineeship contract, and who has been in receipt of the financial package over the course of all three years will, at time of graduation, be committed to work for the HSE for three years, in recognition of the payment received
  • in addition, ten second-year and ten third-year students will also have 60% of their fees paid and will receive a sponsorship payment of €3,500 each per year

Minister Butler added:

"This funding demonstrates the government’s commitment to strengthen access to psychology training and equates to funding supports of €75,000 over a student’s three years of studies. Second and third-year counselling psychology students will also have 60% of their fees paid, as well as receiving a sponsorship payment towards costs, such as transport and accommodation.

"This government remains committed to developing all aspects of mental health services nationally, and a central priority is to improve access to our services and to reduce waiting times. These funding supports will see trainee counselling psychologists and newly qualified counselling psychologists working in our mental health services, enabling improvements in the recruitment and retention challenges we face."

The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE to develop programmes for targeted workforce planning, with a focus on ensuring that training places are available and that graduates have opportunities to work in the HSE.

Notes

  • the financial support package for a maximum of ten first-year students (eligible on completion of a competitive process for funding defined by the HSE and TCD) will comprise of a one-year traineeship with the Health Service Executive (HSE). This will be for the first academic year, remunerated at the first point of trainee psychologist salary (€40,673), along with 60% of their fees paid (€9,162) for all three years of their course (€27,486), and an annual support payment of €3,500 in the second and third year (€7,000) bringing the total value of the three year package for ten first year students to €75,159 each
  • the financial support package for ten eligible students (eligible on completion of the competitive process defined by HSE and TCD) across current second and third-year students, will comprise of a payment of 60% of college fees for each of their remaining academic years on the programme. An annual support payment of €3,500 per year will be provided, bringing the total value of the two-year package for second-year students to €25,324 each, and the total value of the one-year package for third-year students to €12,662 each
  • the funding model will remain under review by the Department of Health. Changes to this scheme will be considered in line with any changes to regulation of the psychology profession by CORU

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