I have raised, and indeed have campaigned for some years on, the plight of people studying psychology and trying to get doctorates in psychology. We have a chronic deficit of psychologists in terms of assessments for children with special needs in education, health and in many other areas.

In fairness, the Government responded to the campaigning of psychologists by announcing funding for counselling psychologists who had not been funded and who were paid shocking fees - €10,000 and sometimes €15,000. However, for some of those counselling psychologists who were depending on getting that funding this year, it now turns out that it will not arrive until next year. Some of these people are working two jobs while studying or on placement and are not getting paid for that. They are in very significant debt. They are asking that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, would ensure that the funding comes this year and not next year.

The Deputy is quite right. In the last budget, the Government provided €750,000 from the mental health budget to support counselling psychologists. As we know, clinical psychologists were already funded but counselling psychologists and educational psychologists were not. When I met with the psychologists' association it pointed that out. Under my remit as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, I was able to secure €750,000 to support counselling psychologists. My budget does not extend to the educational psychologists. That comes from the education budget. I am glad to get the opportunity to clarify this.

We are in talks with Trinity College Dublin and the HSE. With that €750,000, I will be supporting first, second and third-year students who start the academic year next September. You have to start some place.

What about now?

That is what I have decided to do. We are working with the psychologists, Trinity College Dublin and the HSE to work out the details.

It is not fair to leave people in debt. What about people now?