Vol. 569 No. 3
146 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps being taken to address the mental health needs of the homeless, especially in view of the recent report from Amnesty International, Mental Illness - The Neglected Quarter, Homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17536/03]
I am aware that the homeless are a high risk group in relation to a number of health conditions, including mental illness. Since 2000, the Department of Health and Children has allocated €18.34 million to health boards to deal with homelessness, with an additional €2.66 million allocated for 2003. The main difficulty in respect of adult homelessness has been in the Dublin area and, in order to address this, the Eastern Regional Health Authority appointed a director of homelessness who is working closely with the three area health boards in implementing the provisions of Homelessness – An Integrated Strategy, published in May 2000.
The ERHA has commissioned the three area health boards to provide multidisciplinary mental health teams within homeless services. Responding to the needs of homeless people with mental health issues requires a multifaceted approach and these teams will play a key role in developing services that are responsive, targeted and effective. The services commissioned across the three area health boards include the following key elements: providing screening, assessment and treatment to homeless people with mental health problems; targeting those homeless people sleeping rough with mental health problems; bringing the mental health service to hostels, day centres and other settings where homeless people present; and providing support and consultancy to homeless services and their staff on mental health issues and concerns.
The recently published health strategy Quality and Fairness – A Health System for You, includes a commitment to prepare a new national policy framework for the further modernisation of mental health services. All aspects of mental health service provision, including services for the homeless, will be examined in the course of this work.
