Dr. Shari McDaid:

Ms Mitchell has just confirmed that they have been recruited this year but not fully come on stream yet they have not. It is hoped that they would have an impact with early assessment and intervention for people with some common mental health disorders.

I believe they will be targeted at children and adolescents. The cost would be about €3.5 million but this is only a starting point and we believe that access to counselling and psychological supports in primary care need to be ramped up. This will give rise to a reduction in pressure elsewhere in the health system.