Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown in relation to the 477 posts allocated for mental health in the Health Service Executive's 2013 National Service Plan; the number of staff of each discipline that will be appointed; to which service, old age, intellectual disability, forensics and so on; to which geographical areas they will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7765/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The 2006 report of the expert group on mental health policy on the implementation of A Vision for Change is a priority for the Government. In this regard, budget 2012 and budget 2013 provided an additional €35 million each year for the continued development of our mental health services. The Health Service Executive, HSE, national service plan 2013 commits to a number of objectives including the further development of forensics and community mental health teams for adults, children, older persons and mental health intellectual disability and to the recruitment of 477 additional staff to implement these measures.

The additional funding provided in 2012 and 2013 is being used primarily to further strengthen community mental health teams by ensuring, at a minimum, that at least one of each mental health professional discipline is represented on every team. The professional composition of these teams will be consistent with the posts described in A Vision for Change such as consultant psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, clinical psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and social care workers.

To ensure the additional resources will be used to best effect, discussions are ongoing in the HSE, and in consultation with the Department of Health, to finalise the allocation of these resources. It has been agreed the allocation of staff will be subject to detailed business cases from the HSE regions for each objective. The following conditions should be met - all posts will be allocated to the community mental health teams for each objective and for no other purpose; all teams must discharge the team co-ordinator role to ensure effective working as a multidisciplinary team; all teams must implement the clinical programmes, as agreed; all teams must complete and return required key performance indicators, both existing and new; all postholders will work as part of a mental health services community mental health multidisciplinary team.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Each HSE region is being asked to submit a business case against each of the identified objectives detailing how the funding is to be spent and the type and number of WTE to be recruited. It is expected that this process will be concluded by end March 2013. Until that process is completed, I am not in a position to identify the type of each post and where it is to be allocated. I am assured that the matter is being given priority within the HSE.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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In 2012, 414 posts were promised for community mental health. It broke down as 150 to CAMHS, child and adolescent mental health services, 220 to the adult mental health community teams, 34 to suicide prevention and ten for mental health primary posts. On 31 January 2013, of that 414 just 193 had taken up positions. Will the Minister ensure that the delays that occurred in 2012 will not be replicated in 2013? I am particularly interested in CAMHS because if we can have the proper teams in place at the childhood stage, it will act as a strong measure of prevention and ensure these children do not end up in adult mental health services.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. Both myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, have discussed this matter at length. We are both committed to ensuring these positions are filled. There were delays last year but we have been assured by the HSE that this will not happen again this year and the positions will be filled. We are concerned about having proper community mental health services to support people in the community. This forms part of a much larger picture in dealing with the modern scourge that is suicide.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Mental health has been the Cinderella of the health service. Within that, the area of intellectual disability and the mental health needs of people with an intellectual disability are even further down the pecking order. There is a need to address this as there has been a lack of progress in developing the mental health of those with intellectual disabilities. Will the Minister give me an assurance that this will get a priority and that there is no further watering down of A Vision for Change? This amazing document shows what needs to be done in the area but it seems to have been just chipped away at since 2006. While I am not putting all the blame on the Minister, mental health has not got the priority it should have.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Having worked for 20 years as a visiting general practitioner to St. Ita's, I know psychiatric treatment, intellectual disability and mental health services have been the Cinderella of the health services. We are doing everything in our health policy to address that. For example, primary care centres must have a mental health facility that will destigmatise this issue so that people will feel just as comfortable going into the centre with a mental health issue as they do with a physical health issue. All the newer hospitals have mental health facilities on their premises as opposed to the old way of separating people out. St. Ita's, for example, was put down the end of a peninsula. Originally, it was intended to put it on Lambay Island, out of sight and out of mind.

All sides of the House are committed to A Vision for Change. I, along with the Government and the Taoiseach himself, are committed to it. The HSE has assured us the delays in filling the posts last year will not happen this year. We will monitor it to ensure progress is made in this regard.