Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2013
647. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the details of the spending of €35 million at the 2012 Budget presented to Dáil Éireann in December 2012 for the implementation of the recommendation of the expert report A Vision for Change. [2932/13]
View answerImplementation of A Vision for Change the 2006 Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy is a priority for this Government. In 2012, a special allocation of €35m was provided for mental health to be used primarily to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both adult and children's mental health services in respect of which €25m was estimated. Up to €3m of the fund was to be used to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention and a cost of €5m was estimated to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems. The remaining €2m was 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. In relation to the specific outlay of the €35 million in 2012, I have referred your query to the HSE for direct reply.
