Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have already referred to the Linn Dara situation where a meeting is taking place this afternoon. Sanction has been given for the recruitment of personnel already from January to March this year, including a further 114 assistant clinical psychologists. The difficulty with the Linn Dara facility is not funding but is a question of staffing difficulties. Serious efforts are being made today on a continuing basis to deal with that matter. I hope it can be dealt with conclusively and positively. It is not a case of the usual claim of a shortage of money. Some 1,100 new posts have been provided for mental health and sanctioned and filled between 2012 and 2016. There was additional substantial funding of more than €115 million. Budget 2017 provided further additional funding for mental health, which means that the HSE funding for this key care programme will increase from €826 million in 2016 to more than €850 million this year.

In budget 2017, an additional €35 million was allocated for services to be initiated in 2017. The Deputy is talking about north Louth, which, no more than any other part of the country, still has inadequate services. The range of what I have outlined, which is of particular to the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, is evidence of the Government's continuing commitment to dealing with this.

The Deputy mentioned A Vision for Change. A review of the 2001 Act is under way.

As I mentioned to the Deputy last week, some points made by Deputy Browne are being taken into account. In line with A Programme for a Partnership Government, the Department recently commenced a policy review of A Vision for Change. This began with the evidence-based expert review of international best practice and existing service development. The latter was completed in February of this year and it will inform the next stage of a policy review process and that will take into account the review of the Mental Health Act.

The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, chairs a task force that comprises a diverse group of 18 people from a number of different mental health sectors - public, private, community and voluntary. The task force has a balance of age, gender and diversity and is an action-focused group which has been meeting monthly over the past year. As part of the Minister of State's commitment to ensuring that the voices of children and young people are at the very heart of the work of the task force, a series of consultations with young people themselves has now commenced. The task force and the public consultation process organised by the Minister of State are very active. The detail of what the Deputy referred to in north Louth is a matter on which I can follow up. The overall picture is one of increasing funding and approval, sanction and recruitment of qualified staff to provide the best level of service for children and young people on a 7-7 basis so that nobody is left without attention when they need it.

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