Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. As she knows, there is a strategy for health for the Traveller community which includes the mental health strategy. To be fair, the €300,000 is in addition to the other money being provided. This €300,000 for budget 2024 will have agreed funding. The Traveller mental health working group has agreed funding for one mental health community worker in each of the seven national Traveller health units. That is what the €300,000 is for. Recruitment is starting now. These posts will be based within the Traveller organisations and will be trained by and work closely with the existing HSE Traveller mental health co-ordinators. There are already nine co-ordinators for Traveller mental health within the nine CHOs. This represents a further seven. In what I achieved in budget 2024, there are not a lot of new developments. A great deal of the money is for the existing level of services because there is high demand on the services. I secured funding for counselling nationwide and I will continue to work with the Senator.