Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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339. To ask the Minister for Health if the mental health 2023 funding allocated to trainee counselling psychologists will also be extended to trainee educational and child psychologists (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49122/22]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The total allocation for mental health services in 2023 is over €1.2 billion, which is another record budget for mental health services. This significant investment will enable implementation of many of the short and medium-term measures in our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, enhancing the provision of mental health supports across a broad continuum from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, to acute and specialist mental health service delivery, and enabling us to continue to deliver our vital services to as many people as possible, as we move into 2023.

€750,000 has been provided in Budget 2023 to support counselling psychology training places. This funding demonstrates the Government’s commitment to strengthen access to psychology training for those interested in working within the Mental Health sector. Further detailed discussions will now take place between the Department and HSE to progress both this and wider commitments of the 2023 Budget in the context of preparing the HSE Service Plan 2023.

In addition, the Department of Health has been advised by the Department of Education that the Minister for Education and her Department very much value the work of all educational psychologists across the education system. I understand they are working proactively and intensively to find a positive resolution for the issue of fees for trainee educational psychologists.