Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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143. To ask the Minister for Health the measures she is taking to improve CAMHs services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24033/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I recognise that many children are facing mental health challenges, and I do not underestimate the impact that this has on children and families.

It is a priority for me and for Government as a whole to ensure that children who need access to services can get them and get them on time. I know that there are issues in relation to this and that is why I want to simplify referrals, improve links with primary care, use e-health and also train and retain more doctors, nurses, therapists and health care professionals.

Mental health funding has also increased by 44% since 2020. Year-on-year funding for mental health services increased by €143.5 million from €1.3 billion announced in Budget 2024 to almost €1.5 billion in 2025. This represents a 10.7% annual increase and an increase for the fifth year in a row.

CAMHS will receive approximately €167 million in dedicated funding this year, an increase from €137 million in 2023. In addition, approximately €110 million is provided to community-based mental health organisations and NGOs this year, with a significant proportion dedicated to supporting young people. Under Budget 2025, I secured an additional €2.9 million to support CAMHS to increase core staffing, reduce waiting lists, develop a new CAMHS Emergency Liaison Service and expand CAMHS Hubs to improve crisis cover for services.

In 2023, I established a new National Office for Child and Youth Mental Health in the HSE which is a significant development to improve leadership and management across youth mental health. The Office has developed a new Youth Mental Health Action Plan which was published on 17 February 2025.

This three-Year Plan details 16 key actions aimed at reforming child and youth mental health services. The plan emphasises equitable and timely access to high-quality care, the development of a single point of access for mental health referrals, and the integration of statutory and community services. The goal of the action plan is to re-design and deliver services which are safer, effective, easy to access and which offer appropriate support at all levels of need.

The HSE intend to ensure improvements to service delivery for children and adolescents through, for example, the expansion of existing CAMHS teams and roll-out of waiting list initiatives; the development of an electronic healthcare record; the development of a model for a single point of access/referral pathway for children and young people with the expansion of the development sites in 2025; and the design and development of integrated child and youth crisis response services which will include CAMHS and Emergency Department liaison / Out of Hours services and additional CAMHS Hub teams.

I have been engaging in a number of visits across the country to meet with CAMHs teams and to identify areas where increased activity is needed, and also areas of innovative and positive service delivery. As part of this process, I am also meeting with each individual Regional Executive Officer (REO) to ensure that senior leadership remains focused on improving CAMH services.

The Deputy can rest assured that I will continue to work closely with the HSE to improve all aspects of Youth Mental Health care, including CAMHS.