Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate where the Minister of State is coming from and that CARMHA has to apply for funding like other organisations. As I indicated earlier and in previous communications with the Minister of State, CARMHA has already applied for funding. What it and similar groups need is long-term funding to ensure their survival. Let us be honest, CARMHA and similar organisations are filling a gap and their services are needed because vital resources are missing in other areas. I ask the Minister of State to contact the organisation directly with a view to finding a solution so that it and other groups can continue to fill that gap.

As I said, the Probation Service and other services are sending people to CARMHA and similar organisations. The State itself is sending people to organisations like CARMHA because it knows there are gaps in the system. While I appreciate that public money is involved, I do not think the Minister of State will find anybody who will say that CARMHA does not provide value for money. Hundreds of people use the services it provides. If CARMHA and other groups have to close at Christmas or in the new year, it will put extra pressure on our health service. The Minister of State will be under pressure to provide more funding. Can some of the €10 million in funding be used to help these kinds of groups?

Deputy Kerrane completed a survey recently on the cost of living. Of more than 14,500 people who responded, 77% noted that the increased cost of living had a negative impact on their mental health. This is the kind of problem we are facing. Organisations such as CARMHA will be vital in trying to deal with that. I ask the Minister of State to pick up the phone and contact the organisation.

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