Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure it is ever a good idea to set a crude percentage figure as to what percentage of the health budget, or any budget, should be spent on anything. The reality is that some health care is more expensive than others. One of the areas that is enormously expensive is cancer because of the cost of the new medicines that become available every year. Even though fewer people may have cancer than have mental health problems, the cost of treating each cancer patient is always going to be very much higher than the cost of treating somebody with common mental illnesses, such as depression. That is an issue that needs to be borne in mind in setting financial targets.

In terms of actual cash, the mental health budget for 2012 was €711 million; in 2013, it increased to €737 million; in 2014, it was 766 million; and in 2015, it is €792 million. It is clear there has been a substantial increase in non-capital funding for mental health in recent years. I am sure it is not enough but it is a significant increase during a period when so many other things have been cut back.

See this speech in context