Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator and apologise to her for the absence of the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee. I have been asked to take this matter and I am happy to do so. From 2012 to 2016, approximately €115 million was added to the Health Service Executive, HSE, mental health budget, which totalled €826 million in 2016. This represents an increase of €41 million, or 5.2%, over 2015. The programme for a partnership Government gives a clear commitment to increasing our mental health budget annually, as resources allow, to expand existing services. Budget 2017 made allowance for an additional €35 million for services to be initiated in 2017. Key priorities to be addressed in the HSE's 2017 service plan include: youth mental health; further improvement to child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, and adult services; older people’s services; and further enhanced out-of-hours response for those in need of urgent services. Recognising the time lag in new staff taking up posts and the completion of preparations for the introduction of these services, it is estimated that the revenue spend in 2017 associated with this increased allocation will be approximately €15 million. There will also be an additional spend of €9.5 million in mental health associated with increased pay rates. Details of the 2017 development money spending will be finalised with the HSE in the near future in the context of the 2017 HSE mental health division’s operational plan for 2017.

For 2016, an additional €35 million in programme for Government funding was allocated to mental health. This funding was spent on national mental health priorities as agreed between the Department of Health and the HSE, and as signalled in the HSE's 2016 national service plan. Funding was issued in three parts. The first part, totalling approximately €22 million, was issued in June 2016 and used to fund such areas as homeless mental health, service user engagement, the Jigsaw programme, additional counselling and psychology services, and eating disorder posts.

The second part, totalling €12 million, was issued in August 2016 and used to fund minor works and capital works, both of which addressed difficulties identified by Mental Health Commission inspectors, as well as an increase in psychiatric nurse undergraduate training places. The final €1 million was allocated in December 2016 and helped fund replacement vehicles for residential mental health units and mental health work by organisations such as Bodywhys, Áras Folláin, ADD Ireland and Focus Ireland. In cases where the HSE was unable to spend the full amount allocated to a certain area in 2016, it was reallocated to other mental health areas following sanction from the Department of Health. For example, €5 million issued for mental health in primary care was used to expand the range of small and minor capital works.

Mental health priorities for 2016 were agreed between the Department of Health and the HSE. These were published in the HSE's 2016 national service plan and in more detail in the HSE mental health division's 2016 operational plan. The breakdown of all mental health funding is available in the HSE mental health division’s operational plan, which is published annually. The 2016 spend on these areas will be included in the forthcoming 2017 operational plan.