David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1118. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated additional capacity and services that will be delivered for each €1 million additional annual funding for the National Drugs Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21404/20]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Substance use and addiction affects people from all walks of life. By treating the use of substances as a public health issues, rather than solely as a criminal issue, we can better help individual, families and communities. The national drug strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, is the Government roadmap for addressing drug and alcohol use. The Programme for Government Our Shared Future, sets out the Government's priorities under the strategy.

The Department of Health provides over €130 million in funding to support the implementation of the national drug strategy. Additional funding of over €845k was provided for the implementation of the strategy in 2020. This funding supports the implementation of the Health Diversion Programme, to expand addiction services for pregnant and post-natal women, and to develop a community alcohol service in Galway and a residential treatment service for women and children in the mid-west region.

Improving access to services is a key goal of the strategy. It contains a series of actions which aim to reduce waiting times, provide more equity of access to services around the country and remove potential barriers to accessing treatment by those with complex needs. The strategy also aims to minimise the harms caused by the use and misuse of substances and promote rehabilitation and recovery.

I believe that additional resources should be directed towards interventions and strategies which are most likely to lead to a reduction in problem substance use and an improvement in public health, safety and well-being. I will consider the allocation of additional resources for the national drugs strategy as part of the Estimates process.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1119. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated additional capacity and services will be delivered for every €1 million additional annual funding for the Healthy Ireland Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21405/20]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Healthy Ireland, A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-2025, was developed in response to a number of significant public health challenges, increased levels of chronic preventable disease and growing heath inequalities. Healthy Ireland recognises the requirement for a ‘whole of Government’ approach to addressing the social determinants of health, as well as an inclusive, intersectoral approach to improve population health and well-being by shifting emphasis to prevention, and empowering individuals and communities to take more responsibility for their health and well-being.

At its core the framework has four goals:

1. to increase the proportion of people who are healthy at all stages of life

2. to reduce health inequalities

3. to protect the public from threats to health and well-being

4. to create an environment where every individual and sector of society can play their part in achieving a healthy Ireland

The Framework is therefore implemented via a variety of different means and settings and through a number of different workstreams. Any additional investment into the framework could be allocated against any of these goals based upon the potential impact on achieving the goals of the Framework. Given the far-reaching nature of the framework, the multitude of the partnerships and diverse workstreams it is challenging to estimate what additional capacity and services would be delivered for every additional €1mil.

The Healthy Ireland Framework aims to prevent chronic disease, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. Not only do these non-communicable diseases account for a significant proportion of the expenditure of my Department, but a healthy population is essential to allow people to live their lives to their full potential, to create the right environment to sustain jobs, to aid the economy and to look after the most vulnerable people in society. A healthy population is a major asset for society.

Whilst much of the work of the Healthy Ireland Framework is done in partnership with a multitude of stakeholders, the direct spend of my Department on the Framework in 2019 was €7,4mil. This expenditure was used to support the Healthy Ireland Fund (€5mil), communications and citizen engagement (€1mil), Healthy Ireland Survey (€1.1mil) and other activities including key research such as the Health Behaviours in School-aged Children study.

As an example, an additional investment of €1mil into the Healthy Ireland fund would enable the provision of an additional €32,000 to 31 Local Community Development Committees across Ireland to run community based actions that promote Health and Wellbeing through six priority themes including: physical activity, mental health, Nutrition, Sexual Health, Tobacco and Alcohol and Spaces and Places for Health and Wellbeing. Round 2 of the Healthy Ireland Fund benefitted 950,000 citizens through the partnership actions of 3,930 organisations from a budget of €5mil. Therefore, each additional €1mil would potentially extend the reach of the fund to engage more partner organisations to play their part in realising a Healthy Ireland and benefit an additional 190,000 citizens.

The budget for Population Health and Wellbeing within the HSE, which implements much of the Healthy Ireland Framework, accounted for €141mil for 2020. For more detail on the delivery of these actions please consult the HSE National Service Plan 2020.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1120. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing universal access to counselling without charge on a general practitioner referral basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21406/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1121. To ask the Minister for Health the additional capacity needed to provide universal access to counselling without charge on a general practitioner referral basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21407/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1122. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated full capital and current cost to achieve a 24/7 crisis intervention service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21408/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1123. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated full capital and current cost of moving to a seven-day week outpatient model of child and adolescent mental healthcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21410/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1124. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for a 10% increase in homeless mental healthcare services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21411/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1125. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of doubling the investment in site maintenance and upgrading approved mental health centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21412/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1126. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of increasing funding to Jigsaw services by 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21414/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.