Ms Kate Mitchell:

On the housing issue, the Housing Agency has been doing a lot of work in this area, particularly in the past couple of years. Linked with what Ms Carthy and Dr. McCarthy have been saying, one of the really important measures that have been taken is an analysis of housing need and future needs. Local authorities have been doing a lot more work in collecting data. It will be very interesting to keep an eye on that space.

Something that also seems to have been working effectively is having liaison points between the local authorities and disability and mental health services. The liaison officers are very aware of housing needs in their areas, the individuals who require housing and the particular things that need to be taken into account in making adaptations and so on. However, there is also a requirement for training of local authority staff. The individuals on the front line who are making assessments and allocation decisions need to be appropriately aware and trained in how to deal with disability and mental health issues. There is much greater co-ordination between local authorities and disability and mental health services in that regard.

On proofing and the position in other jurisdictions, there are other jurisdictions where mental health services are allocated funding at a much higher rate as a proportion of the total health budget. In England and Canada it is at a proportion of about 13% and in New Zealand about 11%. In Ireland we are at a figure of just 6% and that proportion has decreased during the years. That issue certainly needs to be looked at as a priority. In other jurisdictions they are also investing very much at the early stages. They are seeing great returns on funding where they invest in the early years in perinatal mental health services.