Maire Devine (Sinn Fein)
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I will start by being frank. I want to be nice, positive and upbeat but there is very little to be nice, positive or upbeat about. I am absolutely shocked and appalled by the mental health budget for 2018 and groups in the sector are shocked and appalled, as are the mental health warriors. Not only has the Government fallen way short of the mark, it is attempting to cover up the failings by announcing old moneys as new spend.

I ask the Minister to explain how this inadequate budget will help our children and our most vulnerable because we owe them an explanation. I sat in this Chamber for many hours as part of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee and listened to brave parents tell their stories about their utter dismay and heartbreak while trying to access mental health services for their children in distress. I tried to help those in my area of Dublin South-Central and, last week, another child was admitted to St. James's Hospital. This budget is a slap in the face for such people. In July, over the summer recess when preparatory work started for this budget, the staffing levels in CAMHS were at 53% of the recommended levels and 11 beds remained closed in an inpatient unit in Linn Dara in Cherry Orchard. There are suggestions that a Dublin hospital close down in its entirety because 40 staff are missing to cover its acute high-dependency beds. I am sure this is replicated elsewhere and perhaps the Minister can say what he knows of this situation.

In Waterford on Tuesday, two patients were admitted to plastic chairs in high-dependency units and a 16-year-old was admitted in August. This goes on and on and it is no wonder I cannot be nice, upbeat and positive. There are over 2,500 children on waiting lists but in this budget they are only worth a few pennies. It is an absolute disgrace and the strategic communications unit of the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, seems to be getting more attention than mental health.

I ask the Minister of State to explain the budget to people on the waiting list, to their parents and to psychiatric nurses who are desperately trying to find a bed to calm the nerves of distraught parents. He should tell the young people who were given false hope that the Government might actually do something. I thought that, given the enormity of the problem, the Government would do something but €15 million is an insult, a slap in the face. I ask the Minister for a detailed breakdown of where the moneys are going but ask him to spare me the details of what the budget will do to keep things as they are. We need at least €65 million now, not promised for the future. There was €15 million last year and there is €15 million this year. What will it be in 2019? There is a promise of €40 million somewhere but I do not have any confidence in that and nor do the people out there looking for services.

Can the Minister explain the expenditure report from last year and the HSE service level report on CAMHS? Can he also explain how €15 million is going to help our children in distress?

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Devine for the opportunity to clarify some of the misinformation she is continuing to peddle with gusto. In 2018, we will see an increase of €35 million in development spending for mental health, part of which will pay for development commenced this year while part will pay for further new developments to be commenced in 2018. There will also be additional funding of €24 million for pay-related costs. This will result in a mental health budget of €912 million, which reflects an increase of around €200 million, or approximately 28%, since 2012. I challenge the Senator to identify any other area of the budget that has seen an increase of 28% since 2012.

Mental health is also guaranteed a further €55 million in 2019. The additional €35 million for this year will help build on the work commenced in 2017 on the enhancement of community teams for children, adults, psychiatry of later life and mental health intellectual disability services. It will also help to continue our move towards a full 24-7 service, with an initial focus on increasing the provision of services on a seven day a week basis. The HSE has been asked to prioritise this in 2018. Developing a service response which is as seamless as possible for every service user is also a priority of the HSE. It is the policy of the HSE, as reflected in its annual service plans, to provide an age-appropriate mental health service for those aged under 18.

Mental health remains a key care programme priority for this Government, underscored by the fact that the HSE mental health budget increased from around €826 million in 2016 to approximately €851 million this year, and will further increase to €912 million next year, an increase of €63 million.There will also be an additional €55 million for 2019.

Taken together with €35 million in 2018 and €15 million allocation in 2017, this will bring the total allocation over the period 2017-2019, inclusive, to €105 million. This will deliver on the commitment to the full implementation of A Vision For Change. Planning for the effective use of these additional resources will commence immediately to ensure new developments are introduced speedily. The HSE service plan 2017 commits to the further development of various aspects of child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, to which the Senator referred, including more acute bed provision, better out-of-hours liaison and reduced waiting times, especially for those waiting over 12 months.

CAMHS is a strategic priority action for the HSE, and will remains so against a background where the population of children increased by around 8,500 over the last two years which inevitably created additional demand on CAMHS. Around 18,500 referrals are expected to the service this year. Additional resources and facilities means there are now 67 CAMHS teams and three paediatric liaison teams, supported by 60 operational CAMHS beds nationally, with further beds planned to come on-stream as approved staffing posts materialise at local level.

It is envisaged that the increased funding for CAMHS will go to areas such as: day hospital provision, thus improving responses to cases, avoiding inpatient stay and providing more appropriate support than available from community teams; the development of CAMHS eating disorder specialist community teams in line with A Vision for Change; improving the physical health of those under 18 years known to mental health services or who co-present or arc treated in primary care services; the expansion of liaison teams to work with CAMHS governance and ensure appropriate assessments for children including sessional capacity; and the promotion of prevention and early intervention services for positive youth mental health, including enhancing partnerships with non-statutory agencies.

The Senator can rest assured that CAMHS will continue to receive priority from me, the Department of Health and the HSE. One aspect in particular which I wish to develop includes improved cross-referral within the HSE and better inter-agency links between the HSE and the education, disability, and child care sectors. I will ensure that, in light of the significant funding provided in budget 2018 for mental health, CAMHS will continue to be prioritised by the HSE in formulating its service plan for next year.

Maire Devine (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. He referred to the significant funding provided in budget 2018 for mental health and a figure of €15 million. I do not believe that figure. There has been an increase of 1.7% and Minister of State said over several years the figure will be 28%. The increase for this year is a measly 1.7%.

To clarify, €15 million was allocated last year and the same has been allocated for this year. We need to prioritise community services. I do not feel confident in our mental health services or the response of the Government. I thank the Minister of State for being here today.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response.