Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am here this morning on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, to answer Senator O'Loughlin's questions.

I welcome the opportunity to speak about Ireland's model of care for eating disorders, particularly during eating disorders awareness week. Eating disorders have the highest mortality and morbidity, as the Senator said, of all mental health conditions. An estimated 190,000 Irish people will experience an eating disorder at some point. Sadly, eating disorders often have a very high cost for individuals and their families, as well as for health services and broader society when they are not treated or if they are not treated effectively. Enhancement of specialist services for eating disorders, including improved access and shorter waiting lists, remains a key priority for the Minister of State. She has special responsibility for mental health in government as a whole and in the HSE.

In response to the growth in cases presented to mental health services, €5.7 million has been allocated to the eating disorders national clinical programmes since 2016. The eating disorders programme, launched in 2018, was developed in partnership with the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and BodyWhys, the national support group for people affected by eating disorders. I commend the work of these organisations in supporting people and families affected by eating disorders. It is imperative that these valuable services, provided through the HSE and our partners, continue to be supported to meet current and growing demand.

Some €1.77 million has been invested to date in eating disorder specialist posts with 21.8 full-time equivalents now in place. In addition, the balance of €3.94 million is fully available to the programme and will enable further investment in specialist posts throughout this year. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is keenly aware of previous delays in implementing the programme and she has made it a priority to ensure there are no further delays. She met the programme's clinical lead, along with BodyWhys, this week. They will report to her on a quarterly basis to ensure that real progress is made on the development of eating disorder services this year.

As the Senator is aware, Covid-19 has challenged us all with increased stress, anxiety and fear, not least for those affected by eating disorders and their families. While we do not yet fully understand Covid's impact on mental health, we know that presentations of eating disorders, particularly in young girls and young women, have increased during this time. Funding available to mental health in 2021 will help to tackle increased demand for mental health services due to Covid-19, including the continued development of the eating disorder programme through the establishment of three more specialist eating disorder teams this year.

I understand the Minister of State is fully committed to ensuring that the €3.94 million allocated to the programme is invested this year, in line with clear commitments to improve eating disorder services under Sharing the Vision, our national mental health policy. The funding allocated to date has seen significant growth and improvement in our services.As of last year, there are three specialist eating disorder teams in place. This means that we can treat more 90% of people with eating disorders in the community, avoiding more serious inpatient treatment. Despite the significant increase in referrals in 2020, there was a 43% increase in the number of eating disorder assessments completed compared with 2019, with twice as many people starting treatment. In addition to the three new teams, completion of the three existing specialist eating disorder teams will occur this year.

I commend the work of the programme and the progress made in the past year and I look forward to the full utilisation of the State's investment in this vital service.