Ms Kate Mitchell:

I thank the Chairman and committee members for inviting Mental Health Reform to appear this afternoon.

Mental Health Reform is the national coalition on mental health in Ireland. It comprises 64 member organisations. We advocate for improved mental health services and the social inclusion of people with mental health difficulties. We very much welcome the opportunity to discuss the national mental health budget, in addition to issues of transparency and accountability in mental health funding and expenditure.

I shall touch on four key issues: the continued under-resourcing of mental health services in annual budgets; the absence of a national mental health information system and, consequently, a lack of reporting on mental health expenditure; the potential impact of the recent HSE restructuring on the mental health budget; and the requirement to proof budgets in the context of mental health.

First, with respect to the continued lack of funding for mental health services, the total budget for mental health services in 2018 was just €912 million. If fully realised, this level of expenditure will equate to just 6% of the overall health budget. This proportion represents a reduction on previous years and severely lags behind in terms of national and international standards. It is imperative that mental health is recognised and afforded appropriate priority within the wider health agenda in order to reflect its significance in contributing to the burden of disease in Ireland. This will require a substantial increase in mental health funding to sustain existing levels of service and facilitate the development of new mental health services and supports, a matter which has received little or no attention to date.

In addition to the continued under-resourcing of the mental health system, there is no national mental health information system - supported by key performance indicators - to report on the full extent of service resources, provision, quality and outcomes for community-based mental health service delivery.