Government lacks political will to tackle mental health issue, says Labour

THE Labour Party has accused the Government of lacking the political will to address the failures highlighted by the level of undiagnosed mental health problems among schoolchildren.

With this week’s Prime Time/Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) survey indicating that more than 26,000 primary pupils could be in such a position, opposition parties took an opportunity to highlight Government failings.

“These children need support in their schools as a matter of urgency. This is a problem that could be easily solved if the political will was there but, unfortunately, the will does not seem to be there,” said Labour Party education spokesperson Jan O’Sullivan.