Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 November 2012
184. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Health the portion of the €35 million euro that was ring fenced for mental health services for the year 2012 that has been spent; if any unspent moneys will be carried forward to next year in addition to the 2013 funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51940/12]
View answerFunding from the €35 million special allocation for mental health will be used primarily to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both Adult and Children’s mental health services in respect of which €25 million has been estimated. Up to €3 million of the fund will be used to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention and a cost of €5 million has been estimated to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems. The remaining €2 million will be made available to facilitate the re-location of mental health service users from institutional care to more independent living arrangements in their communities, in line with A Vision for Change.
414 posts were approved to implement the €35 million package of special measures for mental health. To date 14 posts have been filled and over 270 offers of employment have already been accepted and the appointments are proceeding. Most start dates are expected to be in December 2012 to allow for the process of checking references etc. and costs will start to be incurred from that point. The Government remains committed to engaging these professionals as soon as is feasible and the work of completing the process remains a priority.
The provisional outturn for mental health services to mid-year was, like many other areas, running ahead of budget and the end of year excess in this area will be met from the unexpended portion of the €35 million. The Department is currently in the process of working out the Health Estimates for expenditure in 2013 and in mental health it is planned to provide sufficient resources to meet the cost of commitments entered into in 2012 in respect of the posts described above and related costs in 2013.
