Counselling cuts blamed for surge in bullying

Guidance counsellors said “it should be no surprise that the problem of cyberbullying is exploding” when vulnerable children cannot access counselling sessions in school due to government cutbacks.

Coláiste Chríost Rí guidance counsellor Frank Mulvihill accused the Government of “doing away with the one channel that provides constant non- judgemental, confidential counselling support to children” by halving the number of counselling hours available in Irish secondary schools.

“Is it any wonder that this is happening? This isn’t new. It was there since 2007 but it is getting worse. We need targeted initiatives supported with resources yet there has been a cut in half of guidance counsellors and a literal explosion in cyberbullying problems since.”