Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Expanding and improving mental health services and supports for people experiencing a mental health crisis is a key priority for me, the Government, and the HSE.

I have prioritised the expansion of crisis supports and resourcing of suicide prevention in Budget 2026 as a direct response to the issues raised by the Mental Health Commission thematic review, following engagement with people with lived experience and senior clinicians working on the frontline.

I have overseen the rollout of a range of out of hours supports for people experiencing mental health difficulties as alternatives to Emergency Departments. These are outlined below.

Crisis Resolution Services

The model of care for Crisis Resolution Services was developed as a direct recommendation of Sharing the Vision, Ireland’s national mental health policy. It recognises that people who are experiencing a mental health crisis need specialist services to provide timely brief intensive supports to keep people safe.

• Crisis Resolution Teams: These comprise of teams of mental health professionals who work out of hours to meet people in a crisis and provide rapid assessment and intensive intervention. There are seven Crisis Resolution Teams currently operational in Galway, Sligo/Leitrim, Cork city (two teams), Waterford City and County, South Dublin/Wicklow, and Limerick.
• Crisis Cafés: Solace Cafes provide a welcoming, non-clinical safe environment in the style of a café where people can go at evenings and weekends. The Cafés provides a range of support for those who needed to use its services including crisis support, signposting, peer support, and community support. The Cafes are now open in Cork City, South Dublin, Sligo, Waterford and Limerick.

Additional funding has been provided for more Crisis Resolution Teams and Solace Cafes in Budget 2026, for Donegal, Kerry and the Midlands (Tullamore/Westmeath).

Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) Service

The Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) service is critically important safety net for people in suicidal crisis and the Minister fully supports the intention within the second Sharing the Vision implementation plan to expand these services to provide full coverage nationwide. These services provide a timely response to requests for assessment of patients in suicidal crisis from GPs, and the assessments often take place in primary care settings.

The SCAN service was originally developed under the National Clinical Programme for Self-harm and Suicide-related Ideation (NCPSHI) which was introduced in Irish public hospital emergency departments in 2014. Primarily delivered by clinical nurse specialists with support from a consultant psychiatrist in each hospital area, the programme supports people presenting with suicidal ideation as well as self-harm.

The model of care for the service envisages a dedicated mental health assessment room within hospitals to provide a more appropriate environment for assessments to take place. Even when the full network of alternative Crisis Resolution Services is in place, we know people in distress will still present to emergency departments for support. Given most acute mental health in-patient units are co-located with our acute hospital network, it’s important people in distress are assessed in clinically appropriate environments when they present for support. I have allocated funding for the recruitment of additional SCAN nurses in 2026.

Specialist Crisis Nurses in hospitals

Under funding which I allocated in Budget 2026, the HSE will establish specialist nursing teams in the emergency departments of all Model 4 hospitals out-of-hours, made up of Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists to support people in crisis. By placing specialist nursing teams in our emergency departments out-of-hours, coupled with the expansion of community alternatives such as crisis resolution teams and crisis cafes, we are fundamentally changing how we respond to the needs of people in distress.

The Department of Health and HSE will continue to advance initiatives that will improve the supports available to all those in Mental Health crisis, guided by policy.