The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, today launched a new National Framework to address the issues of student mental health and suicide prevention on World Mental Health Day 2020 (10^th October).

This Framework is Ireland’s first ever national approach to address student mental health and suicide prevention. The Framework has been developed as part of the Higher Education Authority’s commitment to play its part in delivering on the Department of Health’s Connecting for Life – Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide 2015-2020.

This new National Framework was developed in collaboration with students, mental health and suicide prevention specialists, academics, researchers and institutional staff. The Framework delivers on a commitment to develop national guidelines for the higher education institutions (HEIs) in relation to suicide risk and critical incident response, thereby helping to address any gaps which might exist in the prevention of suicide in higher education.

Review Report 2025

In 2024, a cross-sectoral panel of stakeholders was established to support the HEA in a review of the National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework, with members drawn from the HEA Student and Staff Health and Wellbeing Advisory Group.

The review consisted of collating and analysing the progress reports on framework implementation since 2020. The review report contains four key recommendations. For more information, you can read the HEA National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework report.