Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I, too, welcome the Minister, Minister of State and delegates from the HSE. This week is mental health week, the theme of which is dignity in mental health. What is the status, operation and budget of Sea Change, the Department's initiative to reduce the stigma around mental illness? There is no need for me to elaborate on the need to eliminate the stigma around mental ill-health and mental health services. One in four people will at some stage of their lives suffer mental ill-health. We know that stigma is one of the main reasons people do not seek help in time or accept their condition. This is a challenge we must face. The Department's initiative was put in place by the previous Minister with responsibility for mental health and disabilities to help address this issue.

On the Government's programme for the development of the mental health services, with the exception of one year, €35 million has been allocated each year for this programme. Am I correct that level of funding was required year-on-year to meet the cost of staff recruitment and maintenance of services? By my calculation, this means that an additional €495 million has been invested in mental health services. I have a few questions in this regard.

The programme provides for recruitment of additional staff. I have been informed that the HSE experienced difficulty recruiting people to some of the professions. I understand that 1,400 staff were to be recruited. How many have been recruited thus far, given the likely expiration of that programme and bearing in mind the Government's situation? Why was funding provided for the recruitment campaign only spent in the fourth quarter of each year despite being available from 1 January? In many cases, this funding carried over into the following year. This means budget allocations for particular years were not spent. What became of that money?

What progress has been made on the planned closure of beds in 19th century psychiatric units which were identified as unsuitable for modern psychiatric treatment? Prior to the crash, the HSE proposed to dispose of some of its properties and to use the funds derived in that regard to invest in capital development of the service. Following the crash, the value of many of the properties in our cities which were previously utilised for the provision of services in the mental health was greatly reduced. Given the value of these properties is now increasing considerably is consideration being given to the disposal of those properties, with a view to investing moneys derived in that regard in capital projects in the mental health services?