Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I did not think I was going to get in today. Deputy Boyd Barrett has covered everything on the spectrum, fair play to him. I would like to have a debate on one of the funding streams announced in budget 2022 in October, which was €10 million in one-off funding model for mental health. This was a once-off initiative which had to be realised by the end of 2021, meaning it was a three-month period to spend €10 million.

I have been putting pressure on the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Butler, to announce when this money will be spent and what on. Time-bound once-off funding can lead to panic spending with resources not necessarily going where they are needed. This is exactly what is after happening. On Monday, the Minister of State announced that €1.8 million of the €10 million for mental health will be spent on a fleet of green or hybrid vehicles for the HSE. Tackling the climate emergency is extremely important but so too is tackling the mental health emergency. Funds for green initiatives should come from operational budgets and not from mental health budgets. Funding for climate actions should not be at the deficit of other portfolios. The Minister needs to explain how this will improve the experience of people who are trying to access mental health supports from the HSE. Almost one fifth of this €10 million was used to buy a fleet of vehicles. I want to know the purpose of this fleet. How will it improve the outcomes of people suffering with mental health issues?

I will put this in a little bit of context. Yesterday during Questions on Promised Legislation the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, spoke about funding for eating disorders. She said she reinstated €3.9 million for eating disorders. In layman's terms reinstating means putting back money that was not spent for the past four years. It is not new money. There are only three adult eating disorder beds in the State. The new eating disorder facility in Mount Carmel that was meant to be open by the end of this year is now delayed and will not open until June 2022 at the earliest. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler went on to say she has provided €1.5 million to put in place three eating disorder teams next year. While this is welcome, I want to put it into the context of the €1.8 million spent on cars for the HSE. This money could have been spent a lot better. There is a complete lack of eating disorder services across the State, both inpatient and vital aftercare services. Eating disorder patients in my area are currently being admitted to generic psychiatric wards. They are there until their body mass index increases to a safe level. They are then released back into the community without specialist care and they end up back in the generic psychiatric ward again. It is a vicious circle. This was meant to be one-off funding for mental health. I ask the Minster to put the brakes on these cars if he can and make sure the money goes where it was originally intended for.

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