Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate Ms Coyle's response. I have limited time so I will move on. We have all seen the impact that Covid has had on mental health services. However, we were in a mental health crisis pre-Covid. There is no getting away from that fact. We are now in a mental health emergency. We have heard the Government announcements over the last while in relation to one-off funding for mental health. As Ms Coyle said, the €10 million in funding that was announced in February has not even been spent yet. I accused the Government at the time, and I will stand over what I said, of making the announcement for cheap headlines when the money was not going to the people that I deal with on a daily basis who are providing front-line emergency mental health supports to our communities. I am not even talking about some of the more traditional mental health supports. Dr. Keogh stated that a holistic approach is required. I am not just referring to the traditional front-line mental health supports. Those working in family resource centres, youth services and direct provision centres are all on the front line of this mental health crisis and emergency. People are banging down their doors seeking to access the care they need, when and where they need it. The big issue we have is ensuring that we get the appropriate care to people where and when they need it.

I ask Dr. Keogh to outline briefly the benefits of multi-annual funding over one-off piecemeal funding. It is important.