Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health the way recently published Health Service Executive regional plans will help those in need of mental health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13865/13]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Government policy on mental health is guided by A Vision for Change the 2006 Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy. The implementation of this Strategy is a priority for the Government and in this regard a special allocation of €35m was provided in 2012 primarily to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both adult and children's mental health services, to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention, to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems and to facilitate the re-location of mental health service users from institutional care to more independent living arrangements in their communities, in line with A Vision for Change. 414 posts were approved to implement the €35m package of special measures.

A further additional €35m was allocated to mental health in Budget 2013 and the HSE National Service Plan, which was approved by the Minister for Health, commits to the further development of suicide prevention initiatives, forensics and community mental health teams for adults, children, older persons and mental health intellectual disability and to the recruitment of over 470 additional staff to implement these measures.

In order to ensure that the additional resources will be used to best effect, discussions are ongoing within the HSE, and in consultation with the Department of Health, to finalise the allocation of these resources. Each HSE Region is being asked to submit a business case against each of the identified objectives detailing how the funding is to be spent and the type and number of WTE to be recruited. It is expected that this process will be concluded in the very near future. I have been assured by the HSE that the recruitment process for the new posts being funded in 2013 and any outstanding posts from the 414 approved in 2012 is being given priority within the HSE.

In relation to the specific question on the HSE Regional Service Plans, as this is a service matter, the question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.