Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
1276. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health the voluntary mental health/counselling service organisations that are receiving funding from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28311/23]
View answerThe HSE has previously advised my Department that more than €80m a year is provided to Section 38 and Section 39 agencies to provide mental health services on behalf of the HSE.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with agencies are negotiated each year by the HSE. All such funding is provided for specific purposes which are agreed annually. The process of negotiating and agreeing SLAs with an organisation includes an ongoing and regular assessment of service activity levels against agreed schedules, and developing an understanding of associated costs, be they anticipated, or unanticipated, is a matter for the HSE.
Other factors considered during this process include research and evidence of need, quality and safety, insurance, spending, performance monitoring, staffing and change control.
In relation to a more specific breakdown of this funding, as requested by the Deputy, as this is a service issue I have referred your question to the HSE who are best placed to provide this level of detail.
