John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I acknowledge the Senator's interest in and commitment to this area. I thank him for raising the matter as it provides me with an opportunity to reaffirm the commitments made in A Vision for Change and allowing me to dispel the notions that funding for mental health services has been parked. The capital projects continue. The new psychiatric units in Letterkenny, Clonmel and at St. Loman's, Mullingar are near completion. For the first time since 1815, there are no further referrals to Grangegorman, with the opening of a new admissions facility for north-west Dublin mental health services in Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown.

The Government is acutely aware of the vulnerability of mental health service users and fully accepts that the impact of a reduction in funding on front-line services must be minimised. We will ensure the needs of service users remain the highest priority. In that regard, I particularly welcome the special consideration given in the budget announced yesterday to the mental health and disability sectors, which will ensure a maximum reduction of just 1.8% in the 2011 allocation for the sectors. The relatively lower reduction, compared to other health sectors, recognises these services are provided for vulnerable groups. It is anticipated that the savings necessary will be achieved through efficiencies, economies, innovation and flexibility. In the circumstances, I am satisfied mental health services will be maintained and that the question of cutting front-line services can be avoided. The central challenge facing the health service is to continue to remove costs from the system, while also delivering broadly the same level of services next year.

The Government recognises the financial and staffing constraints within which all budget holders within the HSE and its funded agencies will be required to operate next year. Undoubtedly, the levels of commitment, innovation and flexibility required by all concerned will be greater than ever before to protect services. We must demonstrate an approach to managing within financial constraints that takes account of relative priorities. In particular, this requires that services provided for the most vulnerable members of the community should be afforded the appropriate priority. This consideration should inform decision making at all levels in the HSE.

Despite the requirement to achieve savings of up to €6 billion in the budget, an additional €1 million was allocated to the National Office for Suicide Prevention. This funding will enable the office to build on initiatives taken to date and bring added momentum and new impetus to its activities to address the increasing incidence of suicide. The See Change initiative will address the stigma attached to mental health issues. It will help various groups to reach out to individuals to help them understand the support structures available. It also aims to help in reducing the high suicide rate. In particular, the additional funding will target increasing the number and range of training and awareness programmes, the improvement and standardisation of the response to deliberate self-harm, the development of capacity within primary care to respond to suicidal behaviour, consider new models of response and the co-ordination of helpline supports.

I must acknowledge the commitment of Deputy Neville and the Irish Association of Suicidology which I have met several times recently. They have come back to me with new thinking and offered to be the regulator of the various groups which want to assist in suicide prevention to ensure we are all on the same message.

Despite the economic downturn, we are still making tangible progress in implementation of A Vision for Change. It is important to recognise that in many parts of the country services are pressing ahead with implementation of the policy, a fact of which we should not lose sight.

While the emphasis is on community mental health teams, I will not brag that some of them are staffed to the maximum. The real challenge is to ensure the moneys saved as a result of the closure of the old institutions are put back into community mental health teams. Significant progress has been achieved, including shorter episodes of inpatient care, improved child and adolescent mental health services, improved forensic mental health services, fewer involuntary admissions and the involvement of service users in all aspects of mental health policy, service planning and delivery. Representatives of service user organisations sit on local committees to ensure they are involved in all initiatives taken under A Vision for Change.

Acute admissions to St. Brendan's Hospital, Grangegorman have ceased following the opening of a new admissions facility for north-west Dublin mental health services at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. I visited that hospital last week and was pleased to see a great sense of determination to deliver A Vision for Change, given that part of that process was to secure a new hospital setting away from Grangegorman.

Enabling works are under way on a 54-bed unit to replace the current facilities for long-stay patients at St. Brendan's. It is also worth noting that plans for the transfer of acute inpatients from St. Ita's, Portrane, to a new purpose-built unit at Beaumont are now proceeding.

New community nursing units in Ballinasloe and Mullingar have been developed and it is anticipated that two 20-bed units for adolescent inpatients in Cork and Galway will be fully operational by January. Other construction works have commenced, including the development of a new acute service in Letterkenny and also at Cherry Orchard in Dublin. These services will be funded from the proceeds of the sale of psychiatric assets.

On the specific point raised by Senator Mullen, there is a commitment to continue to support community services. I acknowledge the strong contribution and commitment of service providers when they continue to work in 2011 to ensure the maximum delivery of services in an efficient and effective manner, with priority being given to those in greatest need.