Ms Sarah Cullinan:

Absolutely. The discussion and questions have been reflective of the focus we, as a nation, have had on the more acute end of the spectrum which is important and needs to be resourced. As has come though in the discussion, acute services are overstretched. As a nation, we need to move our thinking and resourcing upstream. That is the key message Jigsaw has. I am always loath to make parallels with physical health because mental health is different and there are complexities to it. However, as a country, we would not countenance a system which did not have a comprehensive primary care structure for physical health. We would not countenance a system that did not have a vaccination programme across the board. While we have made lots of progress and are delighted to have Jigsaw services with HSE support, for which we are very grateful, we are only operating in 13 communities. We want to operate across the board. We need to do more than just offer the services we now offer.

The Deputy asked whether the systrem was under-resourced. As was pointed out, the mental health service remains the poor relation in the overall health budget. While the early intervention service is coming along, it is still the poor relation in the overall mental health budget. The figure referred to of approximately 33% of young people could seem to be overwhelming. One might wonder how we would ever meet the needs of those young people. However, we know from our work in Jigsaw that many of them will never need to attend a specialist service if we put adopt a comprehensive prevention and early intervention approach. Some of it can be online and some of it can be in their own community. They might never need to cross the door at Jigsaw if we were to empower and equipp parents, teachers, sports coaches and scout leaders, for example. Some people will I hope have their needs met through online supports, with information and guidance, group chat and one-to-one services. While some will need to come through Jigsaw's doors and some will obviously need specialist services, the key message is about getting in as early as possible. If we have a comprehensive approach to early intervention, it will best support the overstreteched acute end of the system.