Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. We all agree that there has been a change in the mental health services and that change needs to continue towards a more preventive and community-based model. It should not commence when a mental illness becomes too difficult; we need to protect people's mental health in the very early stages.

A commitment was given to improve access to psychological therapy and early counselling therapies. Following on a commitment in the 2011 programme for Government, the HSE counselling in primary care, CIPC, service was established and formally launched in July 2013. The primary task of the CIPC service is to provide accessible short-term counselling for adults on low incomes who hold a medical card and present with mild-moderate psychological difficulties in a primary care context.

The service is overseen and managed within the framework of the HSE national counselling service, NCS, and provided in each community health organisation, CHO. Each director of counselling within the NCS is responsible for the overall clinical governance framework for the CIPC service in their area. It is co-ordinated on a day-to-day basis in each area by one or more counselling co-ordinators. There are ten counselling co-ordinators in the CIPC service which sources suitably qualified counsellors on a sessional basis to provide for the needs of individuals using these services.

The Deputy mentioned some of the figures. It is important to go through them because obviously the figures have increased. There has been a growing demand for the CIPC service and consistent growth in the level of service provision. The referral rate increased from 14,407 referrals nationally in its first year to 17,000 in 2015, an 18% increase. In the first quarter of 2016 alone there were in excess of 4,500 referrals nationally to the CIPC service.

Since its launch the CIPC service has offered in excess of 128,000 counselling sessions, with 42,000 offered in 2014 and over 65,000 in 2015, a 50% increase on the figure for 2014. Some 6,000 counselling sessions are being offered every month by the CIPC service. If it continues at this level, it will represent a 12% increase on the figure for 2015. The number of referrals is increasing, as is the number of counselling sessions.

In keeping with its primary task of providing accessible short-term counselling for adults in order to facilitate timely intervention with psychological difficulties, the majority of clients are seen within three months of referral, as evidenced by a breakdown of waiting times at the end of March 2016. Of the 2,496 clients waiting for counselling nationally at the end of the first quarter of 2016, 718 were seen within the first month. A total of 1,119 were waiting between one and three months. I agree that we need to get that figure down to or as close to one month as we can. We also need to reduce the figure of 520 clients who were waiting between three and six months. Analysis of the 139 clients waiting over six months indicated that the majority of this group had specific requirements such as limited client availability to attend counselling.

The Deputy expressed concern about young people's ability to access the CIPC service. As part of the programme for Government investment in 2016, €5 million has been allocated to primary care services to provide counselling and psychological supports for children under 18 years. Additional initiatives to enhance early intervention and prevention services include embedding the existing Jigsaw services and the planned addition of five more youth mental health services - two in Cork, two in Dublin and one in Limerick.

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