Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Members of the House for their contributions this afternoon. I will respond on behalf of myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. While we all recognise that there are areas for service improvement, the passion with which we have discussed the issues is a clear testament to the fact that mental health is an important topic across all parties, and across all parts of government. Much has been said today about ensuring our mental health services are modern. It is important that our capital infrastructure, through which these services are delivered, keeps pace and provides modern, accessible and safe environments for service users. To this end, the HSE is developing a three-year prioritised capital plan to upgrade specific approved centres to meet evolving Mental Health Commission compliance requirements. The HSE is also developing a longer term ten-year capital plan for mental health, which will help to determine priorities for improving facilities nationally to underpin the implementation of our models of care and the type of infrastructure envisaged under the national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision. The new mental health ten-year capital development programme will focus on upgrading existing facilities, replacing inappropriate community facilities and continuing to expand services.

In the context of capital infrastructure development, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has secured an additional €2.1 million to facilitate the opening of 18 beds in the National Forensic Mental Health Service at the Central Mental Hospital in Portrane. The opening of these beds will increase capacity in the system for forensic mental health services, which is a priority for the Departments of Health and Justice. These beds will also allow patients to move through the various levels of support offered by the forensic care pathway in the hospital and, in turn, allow for further admissions across the Central Mental Hospital. I also look forward to the opening of an additional 20 CAMHS beds in the new children's hospital, which will support access to services in this state-of-the-art facility. It is meant to be a beautiful facility.

As I am sure you will all agree, CAMHS teams and those who work in our community and inpatient mental health services, along with the wide range of other mental health supports provided by or on behalf of the HSE, make a crucial and real difference to the lives of those who seek mental health supports each year. I wish to acknowledge, on my own behalf and that of the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, the work of those who have an ongoing commitment to providing mental health interventions for the people of this country. The positive impact that increased investment, as detailed in today's opening statements, will bring to child and youth mental health services will be tangible, measurable and impactful. Improving access to modern mental health services requires that the waiting lists for CAMHS be addressed. In order to continue to meet demand over 2025 and future years, CAMHS teams need to be appropriately staffed. The investments I have announced for 2025 will go some way to meeting that staffing need. Budget 2025 provided 95 new posts for youth mental health, including CAMHS. I look forward to all posts being filled as a matter of urgency.

Mental health supports come in a range of types of interventions. It is important to note the role of digital mental health services as we seek to ensure the services we provide are modern and make best use of innovation in our wider health service. A mental health literacy campaign was launched in October 2022. It is an ongoing and iterative campaign to create awareness and understanding of mental health. It enables people to recognise and manage their own mental health, support others when they identify a mental health need, and identify health difficulties at the earliest opportunity using self-help, social support and community services. YourMentalHealth.ie, which provides information and advice about mental health and well-being, had nearly 2.5 million views in 2024, with a 65% engagement rate. This is an important initial source of information for people who may be seeking supports and information. The .ie domain and the clear links to our national HSE show the public that they can trust the information here, and in doing so, can be signposted to a range of services.

More recently, the HSE developed and launched My Mental Health Plan, which has been in use since April 2024. This is an online and interactive tool designed to help individuals to reflect on their mental health needs and receive personalised advice. The plan matches user responses to questions to appropriate supports. This results in the user receiving tailored advice and resources. Between April and December 2024, some 13,600 individuals started their mental health plan through this website, with 13,100 of them completing their plan. This high completion rate speaks to people's satisfaction with the tool and provides important evidence that this is a trusted and reliable support for people. In addition, Text About It is a free, anonymous, 24-7 messaging service that provides immediate support for mental health and well-being. Text About It provides a safe space where people are listened to by a trained volunteer. In 2024, there were more than 48,000 conversations on the platform, representing more than 4,000 conversations a month.

Over the past year, the Department of Health, HSE and Spunout have been collaborating to commission the development of a dynamic web-based signposting tool, the Navigator app, for young people between the ages of 16 to 34 to support their mental health.

The aim of the project, which has been developed thanks to funding secured by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is to facilitate help-seeking behaviours and enhance access to support. The app aims to provide young people, parents, caregivers and those working with young people with reliable up-to-date information on where to access supports and services at both a local and national level for a variety of mental health issues. This tool is due to be launched before the summer. These examples show how over the last number of years Ireland has managed to develop and implement mental health policies that are very supportive of mental health promotion and recognise digital supports as an important medium for mental health promotion. I can confirm that officials in the Department of Health are currently working with their World Health Organization counterparts to develop the first digital mental health roadmap, which will draw on Ireland’s experience in developing mental health digital supports and provide examples of best practice alongside other European examples. I look forward to the roadmap being finalised and published by the end of the year.

It is clear from today’s statements that mental health services in this country provide a wide range of supports from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, right the way through to specialist inpatient services. The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and partners in the sector to ensure that investment, innovation and improvements are made across the entire spectrum of services and in line with our national policies. It is important that everybody who needs help seeks help, and that we work hard to ensure mental health is a stigma-free issue. Anyone can experience mental health challenges at any time during their lives, and that is why I want to repeat a vital message that often goes unsaid, which is that recovery is possible. If any person is feeling pressure, I encourage them to reach out for help. There are a wide range of high-quality mental health supports available in Ireland through the HSE or the many agencies providing care on its behalf. The best way to find out what supports would best suit someone is through their GP, or via information signposting such as online at YourMentalHealth.ie, which provides information and signposting on all the mental health supports and services that are available nationally and locally, provided by the HSE and its funded partners. The freefone Your Mental Health information line is available 24-7 and provides supports and services at 1800 111888. People can text HELLO to 50808 to access a service that provides emotional support 24 hours a day to anyone experiencing a crisis through engagement in a text message conversation with a trained and supervised volunteer.

On behalf of myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to discuss mental health in the Dáil today. We all understand the priority and urgency of this issue.

See this speech in context