Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We can talk all day about figures and statistics, but much of that can hide the realities of real people who are struggling, looking for these services. The mental health budget has increased by €200 million up to €930 million in the past five years. I do not know of any other country that has increased its mental health budget by such a percentage over that time. That is not enough. It is easy for me is to secure additional funding and throw money at it. How we do what we do is much more important to me.

I am really focused on championing what the Senator has mentioned, which is redoubling our efforts down to the base of the pyramid to be more proactive and intuitive there. I want to roll out the STEPS-A programme in schools. That is a programme coming in from America related to the DBT programme which gives young people the ability to recognise feelings, articulate those feelings and deal with those feelings at a much younger age before they escalate to an acute stage. Too much of our approach to date has been reactive where we have been chasing the extremities and the acute side of mental illness. We need more action focused on the lower levels. I genuinely welcome the Senator's approach and the opportunity to outline some of the steps the Government is taking on that front.