Ms Fiona Coyle:

In regard to mental health reform and our members, one of our key messages is for increased funding into mental health services. We are still very far away from the Government's own target of 10% of the health budget being invested into mental health. I believe it stands at around 5.6%. The figures for this year are not fully clear yet. We need to look at that investment piece. When we talk about investment, our mental health services are staff based and there is often an acknowledgement, which we all acknowledge, that consultant positions and certain other positions are difficult to fill. However, there are other positions that are equally critical. We have heard so much about peer support workers and the value of lived experience, being an expert of lived experience and how rich that role can be in assisting people in accessing mental health services and accessing their rights. As mental health reformers we have a concern that even this year a number of mental health peer support worker roles were due to be issued but now there is an embargo on new roles in the HSE. We heard from colleagues throughout the country that those peer support roles are crucial. Also, individuals are going into training to be trained as peer support workers in anticipation that there will be jobs. Everyone needs work, and when there are no jobs there they may go elsewhere and that richness of what they can bring to our healthcare service is lost. We have a concern on the current recruitment embargo and what that might lead to in terms of some of those really crucial roles that we know are much needed.