Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health the amount of the €35 million announced in the budget for mental health services that has been spent on mental health services; if he will provide a breakdown of the way in which this money has been spent; the number of staff promised to be employed under this scheme that are now in place [44117/12]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Funding from the €35 million special allocation for mental health will be used primarily to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both Adult and Children’s mental health services. Some of the funding will also be used to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention and to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems. 414 posts were approved to implement the €35 million package of special measures for mental health. While none of these staff are in place yet, 378 of the posts are with the National Recruitment Service of the HSE at various stages in the recruitment process, 231 job offers have already been accepted and the appointments are proceeding, 109 offers have been put to candidates to express an interest, 28 posts are being filled either through transfer or are being amalgamated with other posts and the 10 posts for the National Counselling Service were advertised recently for a national panel. Most start dates are expected to be in December to allow for the process of checking references, Garda clearance etc. and costs will start to be incurred from that point.

This Government remains committed to engaging these professionals as soon as is feasible and the work of completing the process remains a priority. However, the provisional outturn for mental health services to mid-year was, like many other areas, running ahead of budget and the end of year excess in this area will be met from the unexpended portion of the €35 million.