Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Health if he will report on the implementation plan for Sharing the Vision – A Mental Health Policy for Everyone. [16858/22]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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On 23 March 2022, Minister Butler, in conjunction with the HSE launched Sharing the Vision: Implementation Plan 2022 - 2024.

Sharing the Vision - A Mental Health Policy for Everyone, Ireland’s national mental health policy, was published in June 2020. Sharing the Vision aims to enhance the provision of mental health services and supports across a broad continuum, from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention to acute and specialist mental health service delivery, during the period 2020-2030.

Sharing the Vision Implementation Plan 2022 – 2024 was collaboratively developed by the HSE and the Department of Health, overseen by the National Implementation and Monitoring Committee (NIMC). The NIMC is tasked with the implementation monitoring of the policy. The Plan sets out individual programme pathways of implementation for each of the 100 policy recommendations for the next three years.

The Implementation Plan will build on existing initiatives already underway, for example in the provision of digital mental health services, the continued phased development and rollout of the national clinical programmes, which are at the heart of service improvement, and the ongoing legislative reform through the review of the Mental Health Act.

A whole-of-government National Implementation Monitoring Committee (NIMC) was established in December 2020 to oversee the implementation of the recommendations in the policy and to monitor progress. The NIMC is made up of the NIMC Steering Committee, supported by a NIMC Reference Group of Service Users and Family Members, which has been established, and NIMC Specialist Groups, which have been established in priority areas of development including Youth Mental Health Transitions, Acute Bed Capacity development and also in Women’s Mental Health.

Additionally, there is work ongoing across the HSE and public sector more broadly that aligns to the recommendations of Sharing the Vision, including the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan, (2021-2023) and the Women’s Health Action Plan (2022-2023).

The Government, along with NIMC, the HSE and its partners, remains fully committed to the reform of our mental health system as promised by Sharing the Vision.

A total of €1.149 billion has been allocated to mental health in Budget 2022. Specifically, this Budget is supporting the continued implementation of new developments under Sharing the Vision, including out of hours supports, CAMHS services, crisis resolution team, the national clinical programmes, and specialist mental health services for older people.