Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I thank Deputy Nulty for raising this issue. The mental health of the population plays a vital role in the vibrancy and economic life of the country. Investing in the promotion of positive mental health and in early intervention is an investment not only in the individual's quality of life, but also in that of his or her family and even the community in general.

Expenditure reductions in 2012 will challenge all areas of the health system to provide continuity of services that are both appropriate and safe for patients. Like other care areas, efficiency savings and other savings will be required from the mental health service nationally, which will necessarily involve some rationalisation and reorganisation of services at local and regional level. We have shifted the emphasis in mental health service delivery in recent years from the old model of institutional care to community-based multidisciplinary services which necessarily engage with service users at local level and often in their own homes. As a result, in many instances the family will also benefit through supports appropriate to the individual's needs. Such services assist families in coping with what is often a very difficult and stressful environment.

Cuts to services have not been targeted at this particular area. We have in fact prioritised mental health services for children and adolescents and have sought to expand inpatient provision as well as extending the reach of the service in this area to the community level, including home based treatment where possible. An example of the improvement in the child and adolescent area is the planned relocation of the Warrenstown inpatient service to recently vacated and redecorated facilities at St. Loman's Hospital in Palmerstown - I know the Deputy is familiar with this - which will involve more efficient use of staff resources available and the delivery of a higher level standard of service overall, including additional inpatient beds. Further down the road, these services will transfer to the new facilities in Cherry Orchard.

Despite all the cuts that have had to be applied across the board in health, I am glad to say that it was possible in the 2012 budget to announce a special new allocation of €35 million for mental health services in line with our programme for Government commitments. This funding will be used primarily to strengthen community mental health teams in both adult and children's mental health services by ensuring, at a minimum, that at least one of each mental health professional discipline is on every team. It is intended that the additional resources will be rolled out in conjunction with a scheme of appropriate clinical care programmes. Approximately 400 additional staff will be recruited to support these initiatives. In addition, further inpatient child and adolescent beds will open this year, something that for a long time has been a critical gap in the spectrum of mental health services.

Some of the new funding will also be used to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention and response to self harm presentations, and to improve access to psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems. Some provision will also be made to facilitate the relocation of mental health service users from institutional care to more independent living arrangements in their communities in line with the health document, A Vision for Change.

It is imperative that the Government gets the best value for money for our available resources in these most difficult of economic times. The duplication of mental health services needs to be avoided to provide a more streamlined service. We need to co-ordinate our efforts and work together to develop our mental health services in line with the recommendations in A Vision for Change. In essence, we need to provide more with less and this has already been achieved in mental health service provision in many areas.

I am fully committed to working closely with the HSE and voluntary agencies to introduce programmes and services which will deal more effectively and appropriately with the issue of mental health.

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