Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
813. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the funding allocated to implementing Sharing the Vision in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to-date in 2023; the estimated funding cost to fully implement the measures in Sharing the Vision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35326/23]
View answerThe total budget for mental health services is over €1.2 billion. This significant investment will enable implementation of many of the short and medium-term measures in our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, enhancing the provision of mental health supports across a broad continuum from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, to acute and specialist mental health service delivery, and enabling us to continue to deliver our vital services to as many people as possible.
Sharing the Vision, has a ten-year implementation roadmap, overseen by the National Implementation and Monitoring Committee (NIMC). Sharing the Vision Implementation Plan 2022 – 2024 was collaboratively developed by the HSE and the Department of Health, overseen by NIMC. The NIMC is tasked with the implementation monitoring of the policy. The Plan sets out individual programme pathways of implementation for each of the 100 policy recommendations for three years.
There is no single set implementation budget for the work required to implement the full programme of recommendations or workstreams as responsibility for implementation is spread across different care areas, including primary care, mental health planning, mental health services, HSE social inclusion, among others.
Any additional funding required for developments under this strategy will be based on the NIMC’s work plan, which will identify priority developments relevant to each care area for each year. This funding will then be sought as part of the estimates process and in close conjunction with the development of the HSE National Service Plan each year.
In the absence of a single integrated financial solution within the HSE, it is not possible to currently say how funding has been allocated across care areas in the course of implementing actions in Sharing the Vision.
Overall each year much of the budget for mental health services enables the HSE to maintain and develop its wide range of mental health and suicide prevention services. These span all specialties and ages, from mental health promotion and early intervention to acute inpatient care and clinical programmes such as self-harm and eating disorders. This aligns with commitments in Sharing the Vision.
