Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, the mental health budget for 2024 is €1.295 billion.

It is the largest budget ever in the history of the State for mental health, an increase from €1.221 billion in 2023. As Deputy Ward quite rightly said, there are challenges with whole-time equivalents for clinical programmes for next year. Working with my team, I prioritised the funding I received for CAMHS and those aged under 18. I will be working closely with the new HSE youth mental health office and the new clinical lead. We will work out with the HSE the service level plan for next year. When those details are issued, the 76 whole-time equivalents I did secure will be put in various programmes. The final decision on this has not been made yet.

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