James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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438. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the allocation of the service reform fund established between his Department, organisations (details supplied) and the Health Service Executive; the amount which has now been allocated; the amount which has been allocated to mental health services; the allocation for each community health care organisation, CHO, in tabular form; and the mental health services being provided in each CHO with the allocation provided. [23107/17]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service issue, this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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439. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the allocation of the €15 million in new funding for mental health in 2017; the additional or new services being provided in 2017 and the funding provided to each, by community health care organisation, CHO, in tabular form; and the additional posts being provided in each. [23108/17]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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440. To ask the Minister for Health the number of new whole-time equivalent positions the allocation of the €15 million in new funding for mental health in 2017 will provide; and the number of positions in categories (details supplied). [23109/17]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 439 and 440 together.

Details of the Budget 2017 allocation of €15m development funding are presently being finalised with the HSE in the context of the HSE Mental Health Division’s Operational Plan for 2017.

The Government is committed to increasing the Mental Health budget annually, as shown by the substantial additional funding of some €115m and over 1,100 new posts provided for mental health from 2012 to 2016. Budget 2017 provided significant additional funding for mental health, which means that the HSE funding for this key care programme will increase from around €826m in 2016 to over €850m this year.

Budget 2017 made allowance for an additional €35 million for services to be initiated in 2017. Key priorities being addressed in the HSE 2017 Service Plan include youth mental health, further improvement to child & adolescent (CAMHS) and adult services, older people's services and further enhanced out-of-hours response for those in need of urgent services. Recognising the time lag in new staff taking up posts and the completion of preparations for the introduction of these services, it is estimated that the revenue spend in 2017 associated with this increased allocation will be some €15 million. There will also be a further additional spend of €9.5 million in mental health associated with increased pay rates.