Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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250. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form on a county basis, the way the €35 million allocated for additional staff in mental health services in Budget 2013 was spent; the locations at which the positions were created; the amount of additional posts that were created; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23376/13]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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251. To ask the Minister for Health if he will outline the way the extra allocation of €35 million for mental health services in Budget 2013 has benefitted service providers and users; if he is satisfied that the allocation has been utilised to the maximum extent possible to increase the level of frontline mental health services available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23377/13]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 251 together.

An additional €35m was allocated in Budget 2013 for the continued development of our mental health services across a range of headings, including the further development of forensics and community mental health teams for adults, children, older persons and mental health intellectual disability 477 posts have been approved to implement these measures. Discussions took place within the HSE, and in consultation with the Department of Health, to finalise the allocation of these resources and commence recruitment. In March, each of the four HSE regions were 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.

Approval has issued to two of the Regions, HSE Dublin North East and HSE South and it is expected that approval will issue to the remaining two HSE Regions shortly. When the Approval Letters issue, the Regional Directors of Operations will ensure that the necessary paperwork is submitted to the HSE National Recruitment Service and the recruitment process will commence. Until this process is completed it is not possible to give a breakdown of new posts by county. 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.