Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter in the House. I commend the Loreto Centre Crumlin on the good work it does, which last year saw the centre providing counselling services to 230 clients in the community, with almost 3,000 counselling sessions recorded in 2024.

I understand that, in recent years, the centre has received funding from a number of public bodies, including Tusla, the Department of Social Protection, the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, Dublin South City Partnership and Dublin City Council. The centre does not currently have any funding relationship with HSE mental health services.

It is a priority of Government to promote positive mental health and reduce the burden of mental health difficulties for all, supported by substantial investment in mental health services each year. This includes significant investment in mental health voluntary and community organisations, which receive substantial funding of €110 million euro from the mental health budget each year. This includes national organisations such as Mental Health Ireland, Pieta, Shine, Jigsaw, the Samaritans, MyMind, BeLonG To and many other smaller regional organisations doing vital work in their communities. Funding to regional voluntary and community organisations is arranged through the section 39 process, administered by HSE mental health services locally, once necessary criteria are met and where a need has been identified. All such organisations must make an application for section 39 funding, which is then assessed by regional HSE mental health services and advanced depending on a variety of conditions, such as the organisation supplying the required clinical and corporate governance information, local operational and clinical considerations and the HSE's budgetary constraints.

I understand a meeting took place in recent weeks between the HSE and the Loreto Centre Crumlin to explore the current issues facing the service. The HSE reports that the legal status of the service is in flux, as the service and building are currently being transferred from the ownership of the Loreto Sisters to a new entity to be established by a committee made up of members of the local community. The committee has advised the HSE that it intends to form a company limited by guarantee and apply to the Charities Regulator for charitable status for the new entity.

There is no existing relationship between the Loreto Centre Crumlin and the HSE, but the recent meeting explored the current funding of the centre's services and the financial situation facing the organisation at this time. I understand the committee is planning to use existing funds to refurbish the centre's therapy rooms and to bring six new therapy rooms into service after which there will be approximately 15 months of running costs left in its reserves. The HSE advises that further discussions are required between local leadership in the regional health area and the service to discuss the scope of the service it wishes to provide on behalf of the HSE. The HSE must be assured that the proposed new legal structure, which has been established, is compatible with the required corporate governance structures for the administration of section 39 funding. The HSE must also be provided with an indicative timeline for the completion of the establishment of the new structure and the composition of the governing body of the new structure along with the proposed arrangements for clinical governance under the new structure. Ensuring the correct corporate and clinical governance is in place is standard across all organisations. It is particularly important for any organisations that will be potentially providing talk therapies on behalf of the HSE as a recipient of public funding. They are essential and appropriate steps on the road to providing funding to any organisation. The HSE is not in a position to provide funding in the absence of the information necessary to provide assurance and corporate and clinical governance, but it is happy to continue engaging with this organisation.

See this speech in context