Ms Anne O'Connor:

That is an interesting question. I was the national director for mental health until my role was reconfigured at the end of 2017. I was the national director of mental health until 31 December 2017. At that time, the structures in the HSE were very different. There were siloed structures which comprised a mental health division, a primary care division, etc. It was certainly of benefit at that time. However, from my personal experience I would say it led to other challenges. At that time, some of the challenges we were starting to encounter were challenges of integration. Even at the time - in 2017 and heading in 2018 - there was a risk that a siloed approach to mental health was becoming an issue. For example, we invested in primary care psychology. The first course for anybody who is experiencing a mental health difficulty needs to be in primary care. The specialist mental health services are exactly that. Having a national director does not fit with an integrated approach to service delivery.

In other fora, we discuss with many of the members issues such as Sláintecare, regional health areas, RHAs, and an integrated approach to care. That is far more important. It is more about looking at the functions. There is much discussion about a national director for mental health. I think it is more important that we focus on what the issues are. What do people feel-----