It's called SHARE and it's been set up by UCD to support, help, advise and reassure employees, via a confidential helpline. "It's a service we have set up to help staff who are experiencing difficulties at a particular time in their lives," explains a UCD spokesperson.

"The difficulty could be work-related, home-related, a relationship problem, illness, bereavement or an addiction."

The phone line (staffed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) is operated by a trained counsellor, who will assess the nature of the problem and recommend referrals.

"If, for example, I would prefer to be referred to a female professional on the northside of the city, out of working hours, the facilitator will facilitate that." The idea behind the launch of SHARE is to promote general health and well-being among UCD staff. The benefit to UCD is that it communicates to staff that they are valued employees, the spokesperson says. SHARE is a pilot project which will be monitored and evaluated.

"We want to see if there are areas we need to improve and ensure that people are satisfied with the service."