Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 October 2022
359. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the status of the children's mental health pathfinder project; the timeframe for implementation of this initiative; the details of the steering groups; the number of meetings to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50793/22]
View answerThe proposal to establish a cross-governmental youth mental health Pathfinder unit, with participation from the Department of Health, the Department of Education and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, received Ministerial approval during the previous Government. Its establishment is a priority in the current Programme for Government.
The proposal is to formalise a new model for collaborative working within Government and place a Pathfinder unit on a statutory footing, through section 12 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. As this section has not been used before, various administrative, budgetary, governance and legal arrangements need to be developed and agreed with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure a robust and workable model for the Pathfinder unit.
The demands on both Departments during the pandemic have presented challenges to progressing the proposals. Nonetheless, the Department of Health has continued to engage with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to develop an implementation option that fully addresses these issues. The realignment of Departmental functions in the education sector, specifically the establishment of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, has necessitated some further consideration of the initial proposal and makeup of the Pathfinder unit.
Officials from the Department of Health and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform discussed improved proposals for governance and legal arrangements at their last meeting on this issue. Subsequently, the Department of Health has worked with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel on the proposals for governance and legal arrangements to advance the establishment of the unit. These draft proposals are currently being considered with participating Departments
I will continue to keep this matter under close review in the context of progressing Sharing the Vision.
