Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

According to census 2016, the number of people with psychological or emotional conditions increased from 96,004 in 2011 to 123,515 in 2016. The Government has taken action to address this and the consequent increase in demand for services. Over the period in question, there has been a substantial parallel increase in awareness of mental well-being in society and a reduction in the stigma associated with mental health issues.

In budget 2018, the Government provided almost €60 million in additional mental health funding, including €35 million for the development of new services. This means the mental health budget has been increased by approximately €200 million since 2012. A Programme for a Partnership Government contains a clear commitment to increasing our mental health budget annually, as resources allow, in order to expand existing services.

This new investment has facilitated the approval of around 1,500 new posts and a subsequent increase in mental health staffing numbers. At the end of September 2017, there were 9,744 whole-time equivalents employed in the mental health division as opposed to 9,404 in December 2015. The investment in question has also enabled the HSE to provide for an additional 130 undergraduate psychiatric nurses and 40 postgraduate psychiatric nurses each year. In addition, the funding increase has made possible the introduction of 114 assistant psychology posts and 20 psychologist posts in primary care. These will enhance early intervention-primary care counselling services for those under 18 in particular and relieve pressures on specialist child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. This new investment has also led to an increase in activity. For example, the number of children attending CAMHS in 2016 was 12,386 while the expected number for 2017 is 14,365.

While the substantial funding increase has helped to fund vital mental health services, it is important to ensure these services are delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible. With this in mind, a number of policy initiatives are being progressed. These include the development of a refreshed policy for mental health and the development of an implementation plan for the Connecting for Life suicide reduction strategy. As well as these, I will be bringing the final recommendations of the national task force on youth mental health to Government in the coming weeks. This initiative will help to develop resilience and coping mechanisms among children and young people. The fourth policy initiative is the pathfinder project on youth mental health. It will address the challenges of implementing youth mental health actions on a cross-departmental and whole-of-Government basis.

When taken together, these policy initiatives illustrate the Government's integrated response to the growing demands on the mental health sector.

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