More than €1.8 million of the Government’s Student Hardship Fund will go towards providing financial and mental health supports for third-level students in Galway.
The fund totals €17.2 million, with an additional €5 million for wellbeing measures. From this, NUI Galway has been awarded €1,247,332, while the GMIT received €576,587.
The hardship fund will assist students with costs such as books, rent and utility bills, food, essential travel, childcare costs, and medical costs.
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The wellbeing funding will be used to recruit additional student counsellors and assistant psychologists; train HEI staff to enable them to support and refer students to appropriate services; raise awareness among students of mental health and wellbeing services available, including through student outreach activities; support the implementation of the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework; and support the implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIs; Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions.
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The funding has been welcomed by the Minister of State and Galway West TD, Hildegarde Naughton [pictured above], and the Independent Galway East TD, and former GMIT lecturer, Seán Canney.
“For many third-level students across Galway, the pandemic and remote learning took a toll on their mental health,” said Minister Naughton. “As students have now returned to campus, we need to make sure additional measures are in place so students can access the support they need.”
Dep Canney said: “Students have endured an incredibly difficult 18 months due to Covid-19. They are now back on campus, but still need significant support – financial and other. The long-term impact of the pandemic on young people’s mental health has the potential to be significant.”
