Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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1433. To ask the Minister for Health the way in which the additional funding announced in budget 2021 for mental health will be allocated in tabular form; the amount that will be provided to organisations (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33758/20]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Budget 2021 saw an additional €50 million allocated to Mental Health Services, bringing the total 2021 mental health budget to €1,076 billion, which is the biggest mental health budget on record. This emphasises the Government’s continued commitment to mental health and the priority it deserves in these unsettling times.

€23 million has been allocated to commence implementation of many of the short-term recommendations of Sharing the Vision, the new national mental health policy,in 2021. This includes the provision of additional beds; enhancing mental health teams including CAMHS hubs/teams; adult crisis resolution teams; expansion of the clinical and dialectical behavioural therapy programmes; peer support workers, bereavement coordinators and the IPS employment approach.

€15 million will assist with the challenges arising from Covid-19. The number of step-down beds will be increased and extra resources will be provided for community mental health teams. Reconfiguration of mental health facilities, in line with Mental Health Commission recommendations and enhancement of digital mental health supports will also take place.

The remaining €12 million of the €50 million additional mental health funding for 2021 will address existing level of service costs, including placements for those individuals whose needs cannot be met within the public mental health system.

A range of organisations, including AWARE, provide mental health services to or on behalf of the HSE under a variety of supply arrangements, such as section 39 funding and service level agreements, at both local and national level. The 2021 allocation of funding for these agencies has yet to be determined, but is expected to consist of both once-off funding for particular activities and funding under the various supply arrangements.