Skip to main content
Normal View

Mental Health Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 December 2021

Wednesday, 15 December 2021

Questions (174)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

174. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the way his Department has deployed the additional €10 million in funding for auxiliary mental health announced in February 2021 as part of COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead; the way his Department has deployed the €10 million in once off funding for COVID-19 announced as part of Budget 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62022/21]

View answer

Written answers

In February 2021, €10 million in once-off funding as part of Covid-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021: The Path Ahead, aimed at increasing mental health supports in response to the pandemic, was announced. Proposals for initiatives under the funding have been finalised and preparatory work has commenced. Funding will be released to the HSE in January 2022. Initiatives will include enhanced signposting and access to existing mental health services and supports, initiatives for children, young people and students, and additional psychosocial responses, recognising that people will require varying levels of support.

On Budget Day 2022 an additional €10 million for mental health services was announced by Minister McGrath. The funding was provided as a once-off measure.

To ensure that as many individuals as possible benefit from this funding, over €7 million will be allocated to improve the experiences of people using mental health inpatient units, day centres, community mental health teams and community residences in every community across the country. Funding will be used to improve the physical environments of some centres and enhance the range of social and therapeutic supports available.

As part of this funding, €1.8 million will be made available to mental health services for the replacement of fleet with green or hybrid vehicles in every Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO).

To ensure that the fund will impact on particular groups of individuals and specific areas of mental health service delivery, over €1 million has been allocated to enhance services and supports in areas such perinatal mental health, men’s mental health, trauma informed care, ethnic minorities, including the Traveller and Roma communities, eating disorders and dual diagnosis.

Areas of investment at CHO level include, for example, the allocation of €150,000 to improve and enhance acute inpatient mental health care in CHO 5; €500,000 for mental health day services provision in the East Cork area; and €170,000 for the continued operation of the mental health crisis café in Galway.

Almost €3 million will be made available to the community and voluntary sector, including €1 million in funding for the continued delivery of free counselling sessions through MyMind, who deliver support in over 15 different languages to people nationwide. This is particularly important given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Ireland’s population.

Further funding of €1 million will be distributed by Mental Health Ireland through their extensive network of grassroots mental health organisations in local communities nationwide. A call for applications to avail of such funding will be advertised shortly by Mental Health Ireland.

Top
Share