Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy where I am. I thank the witnesses for attending. I found the opening statement to be very vague. There is nothing in it to tell us what is happening in mental health services. It is all very vague and I must say that I am very disappointed with it. We constantly hear that we need more resources and funding for mental health services yet when someone is asked, they cannot drill down into where the money is going. Almost €1 billion is provided for mental health every year and yet only €90.2 million has been allocated to my area, CHO 8. When Deputy McLoughlin asked the witnesses, they could not tell him where the money relating to his area goes, which is really bizarre in this day and age, particularly when the Government is constantly being called upon to provide more money for mental health services. I would like to know where the money is going. Does the money that goes in actually get to the service user? I would really like the witnesses to outline specifics in order that the committee can see how the taxpayer is getting value for money. Is there data relating to outcomes which indicates whether we need doctors, more psychologists or more nurses? Is there data which shows that there are certain areas of our mental health services that are underperforming? If there is, we need to know what they are and what can be done to fix the problem.

Regarding recruitment, I welcome the 120 assistant psychologist posts. This is very good because it gives young psychologists an opportunity for experience and will also help in primary care. How many of those posts have been filled? I was shocked to hear the witnesses say that up to 1,000 needed to be recruited at any one time. Could the witnesses outline the specific ways in which the HSE is trying to do this? What is happening such that the HSE cannot recruit psychologists or nurses? What plans does it have to address this difficulty? I would like specific answers to those questions instead of the vague answers in the opening statement.