Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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606. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of staffing all emergency departments with liaison psychiatrists for one year, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26837/25]

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

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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607. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of having fully staffed mental health teams in each CHO across the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26838/25]

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

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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608. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of fully staffing and operating all 73 child and adult mental health services teams, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26839/25]

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

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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609. To ask the Minister for Health the cost to fully implement the National Clinical Programme for Early Intervention Psychosis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26840/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Psychosis is a condition that affects the way the brain processes information, covering a range of symptoms where a person’s beliefs, thoughts, feelings, perceptions, or behaviours are affected. A person with psychosis can find it difficult to distinguish what is real, and onset is typically in late teens/early twenties.

Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) is an evidenced-based approach that can transform the experience and outcomes of young people facing psychosis. The EIP Programme is funded with over €5 million total funding on an annual recurring basis. As a result 5 multi-disciplinary teams are now operational. Two additional EIP teams will be developed this year based on funding secured in Budget 2025.

In relation to the future costs to implement the EIP Programme, as this is an operational matter, I have referred it to the HSE for direct reply to you.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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610. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of fully funding the National Clinical Programme for Eating Disorders and deliver the remaining eating disorder teams by 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26841/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The National Clinical Programme on Eating Disorders has progressed well with 14 of the 16 teams envisaged by the Model of Care now funded.

The HSE spends over €9 million on eating disorders services annually. As a result, access to eating disorder services is increasing, with 25% more assessments conducted in 2024 compared to 2023 (562 vs 449). Approximately 100 dedicated eating disorder clinicians from the National Clinical Programme are now working on the teams across the country, treating people with eating disorders every day. Enhancement for specialist mental health services including eating disorders is a key priority for myself as Minister, the Government as a whole, and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Under funding secured for Budget 2025, there will be two new eating disorder teams operational by the end of this year. These comprise of an adult team in the Midlands, and a CAMHS team in the Mid West.

With reference to the future cost of rolling out the remaining number of eating disorder teams, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply as it is an operational issue.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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611. To ask the Minister for Health the current and capital cost of establishing and operating a 24/7 multi-agency mental health crisis de-escalating team, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26842/25]

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

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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612. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated current and capital cost of implementing the Governments plan for inpatient and outpatient perinatal mental health care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26843/25]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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697. To ask the Minister for Health the level of funding that has been allocated to perinatal mental health services in the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27077/25]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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698. To ask the Minister for Health the steps she in taking to reduce disparities in access to perinatal mental health care among minorities such as migrants, those from the Travelling community, and low-income families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27078/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 612, 697 and 698 together.

The Model of Care for Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services (SPMHS) was launched in 2017, adopting 'hub and spoke' model. Funding to date of approximately €3.6 million has resulted in 6 Hub sites (including Dublin, Galway, Cork and Limerick) and 13 spoke sites identified based on number of births.

Six consultant-led Multi-Disciplinary teams are in place in all the hub sites and Perinatal Mental Health Midwife posts funded in all 19 sites (both hub and spoke). The rollout of the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service has transformed the access to and quality of perinatal mental health services in Ireland.

As your questions raise a number of service matters, I have asked the HSE to reply directly to you in this regard.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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613. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost to fully implement the National Clinical Programme for ADHD; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26844/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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ADHD has long been recognised as one of the most common psychiatric disorders in children and it is now known to persist into adulthood. Core symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.

This National Clinical Programme is based on multi-disciplinary community teams to diagnose and treat ADHD in adults. As Minister, I'm proud to have launched the Model of Care for Adult ADHD and to have resourced the establishment of the teams envisioned by the Model of Care. The ADHD Programme is funded with total funding of over €5 million on a recurring annual basis. As a result, there are 8 teams funded, with 7 teams are currently operational and one team in recruitment. Additional funding has been provided in Budget 2025 to roll out all further teams envisaged in the Model of Care.

In relation to the future costs to implement the ADHD Programme, as this is an operational matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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614. To ask the Minister for Health the cost of running the Galway community café, the free out-of-hours adult mental health service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26845/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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615. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost to increase funding for recovery education by 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26846/25]

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

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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616. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of employing a mental health liaison respectively, inclusive of salary and PRSI costs, as provided for in the HSE winter plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26847/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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617. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing universal counselling within primary care; the cost of providing counselling in primary care for 0-18 years, 0-25 years, and over 25’s, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26848/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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618. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of fully implementing the National Model of Care for Dual Diagnosis over five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26849/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Dual diagnosis means a person experiences both a substance abuse problem and a mental health issue such as depression or an anxiety disorder.

Treatment options must address both issues, and as such the HSE have developed a Model of Care which recommends the development of 12 Adult Specialist Dual Diagnosis Teams nationally, 4 Adolescent Hub Teams, and a National Dual Diagnosis Rehabilitation Centre. To date investment of over €3 million has resulted in 2 Adult teams and 2 Adolescent teams being operational, with 2 further teams and additional posts funded for 2025.

With reference to the future cost of rolling out the programme, as this is an operational issue it has been forwarded to the HSE for direct reply.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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619. To ask the Minister for Health the capital and current cost of establishing a ten bed inpatient unit for eating disorders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26850/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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620. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children currently on CAMHS waiting lists, by area; and the number who have been waiting longer than 12 months in each area. [26862/25]

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

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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621. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department has assessed the comparative cost to the State of early CAMHS intervention versus crisis-driven responses including accident and emergency visits, ambulance callouts, Garda involvement, and inpatient psychiatric care. [26863/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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It is a priority for me, and for Government, to ensure that children who need services can access them and access them on time. This is in line with our national mental health policy Sharing the Vision, our suicide reduction strategy Connecting for Life, and the HSE Annual Service Plan 2025.

The various and obvious benefits of a Prevention and Early Intervention approach, including financial, have long been recognised by the mental health system and these are also clearly reflected in our on-going policy implementation and service developments. The concepts of Prevention and Early Intervention are a core Domain of our national mental health policy Sharing the Vision 2020-2030, and implementation of this is progressing very well. They are also kept to the fore in the context of the very significant contribution made each year to so many vulnerable young people by our 81 CAMHS community teams and our 4 CAMHS in-patient units nationally.

Significant investment has been made available by Government to the key mental health care programme over recent years and this will continue. Year-on-year funding for mental health services increased from €1.3 billion announced in Budget 2024 to almost €1.5 billion in 2025. This represents a 10.7% annual increase. CAMHS nationally receives approximately €167 million annually, with a further €110 million provided to NGOs, many of which focus on youth mental health. Under Budget 2025, an additional €2.9 million will support CAMHS to increase core staffing, develop a new CAMHS Emergency Liaison Service and expand CAMHS Hubs to improve crisis cover for services.

CAMHS is a secondary care specialist service for those aged up to 18 years, who have a moderate to severe mental health difficulty. Access to CAMHS is on the basis of prioritised clinical assessment, in line with the CAMHS Operational Guidelines which are available on the HSE website. All referrals to CAMHS are assessed by a multidisciplinary team. Approximately 2% of the population require support from this specialist service with over 90% of mental health needs requiring treatment in a primary care setting.

Mental health difficulties are often described on a continuum of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. To reflect this continuum there are tiers of mental health service provision. This ’stepped care approach’ as outlined in Sharing the Vision aims to enable an individual to avail of a range of supports and services as close to home as possible, at the level of complexity that corresponds best to their needs and circumstances, across a continuum of mental health services. This means accessing the mental health supports that they need, in the community in the first instance, at the level most appropriate to their needs – this could range from counselling and talk therapies through to support from their community mental health team, or access to more specialist services, up to and including inpatient and residential supports.

I established the National Office for Child and Youth Mental Health in the HSE to improve leadership and all aspects of care across youth mental health. The Office published its new Youth Mental Health Action Plan in February last. This ambitious plan for comprehensive reform across all youth mental health services, including the specialist CAMHS service, will deliver services which are safer, effective, easier to access and which offers appropriate support at all levels when needed.

The three-year Plan sets out a clear roadmap for the Department and HSE to ensure children and families have equitable and timely access to high-quality mental health care, including better links with Primary Care and Disability Services, and greater use of e-mental health responses. My aim is that services will be better connected and easier to navigate, with increased focus on the rights of young people and their families. The development of a Single Point of Access for all child and youth mental health referrals in partnership with disabilities, primary care, and voluntary and statutory agencies is a key priority within the new Action Plan.

Mental Health Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention is also a key principle underpinning the work in delivering on the commitments in this Action Plan. The Plan strives to ensure that Mental wellbeing and literacy for children, parents and communities will be promoted from birth and that services will be available as soon as they are needed. This will mean children and young people, who need to, can avail of early needs assessments to help prevent more complex mental health issues developing in the future. Rather than focusing on CAMHS only, the HSE is placing greater focus on a whole of government and whole of society approach to youth mental health improvement, including on early intervention approaches to youth mental health services.

I recently commenced a series of visits to all HSE Regional Health Areas to meet with the Regional Executive Officers and their staff to focus on improvements to all aspects of Youth Mental Health care, to identify areas where increased activity is needed, and also areas of innovative and positive service delivery. This includes improving access and reducing CAMHS waiting lists particularly for those waiting over 12 months. I have stressed also, the importance of filling all approved posts for each CAMHS team to ensure the effective delivery of services.

The specific information raised by the Deputy is not collated as a matter of routine by the Department of Health nor the HSE, however our national policies recognise the rationale, and economic benefit, of investment in early intervention and prevention. I will, in conjunction with the HSE, continue to keep the improvement of all aspects of mental health care under close review for the remainder of this year.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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622. To ask the Minister for Health the average daily cost of a bed at CAMHS inpatient units, for example, Éist Linn, Linn Dara and Merlin Park; and the total cost per admission. [26864/25]

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

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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623. To ask the Minister for Health the percentage of CAMHS referrals currently being accepted for assessment and treatment, by area; and her plans to address the high rate of rejected referrals. [26865/25]

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