Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Focused mental health leadership in the HSE is needed at national director level reflecting the need to enhance and develop relevant mental health services in primary care, acute hospitals and specialist mental health services as envisaged in Sharing the Vision.

Members proposing the motion raised a range of other issues. I acknowledge that there are serious challenges to be addressed in our mental health services. However, I would like to reiterate that mental health is a priority for me and for this Government as a whole. An additional €47 million for mental health services was made available under budget 2022, bringing the total allocation to €1.149 billion and continuing the year-on-year increases in investment in mental health services since 2012. This investment is underpinned by Sharing the Vision. Members are right to say that the funding for HSE mental health services is approximately 5% to 5.5% of the budget for HSE health services. However, it must be acknowledged that this does not take into account mental health services and supports delivered or funded through other parts of the health service, or by other Departments or agencies, constituting a substantial sum of expenditure year on year.

I also noted that many of the Opposition Deputies mentioned that we should be at 12%. Yet, when they took the opportunity in their pre-budget submission the increase was €113 million, which will bring us nowhere near 12%.

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