Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 January 2024
180. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health his views on any developments made by his Department with implementing the 49 recommendations identified in a report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4635/24]
View answerThe HSE have advised my Department that a progress report in response the Mental Health Commission Final Report on CAMHS was sent by the HSE to the Mental Health Commission on 31 October 2023. A key development in 2023 was the establishment of the new Child and Youth Mental Health Office (CYMHO). This office is to fundamentally improve supports to deliver children and young people’s mental health services in Ireland.
The HSE have advised that the correspondence sent to the Mental Health Commission highlighted proposed changes to the current governance structure to a new structure to further support the delivery of actions arising from the Mental Health Commission report and recommendations. This new governance structure will drive development of the wider Child and Youth mental health improvement programme, aligning current programmes of work in the implementation of our national mental health policy Sharing the Vision, national mental health clinical programmes as well as the recommendations from the Mental Health Commission report and the Maskey Report.
It is proposed that in Q2 2024 the HSE will publish the Child and Youth Mental Health Service Improvement Programme to provide a transparent plan that will guide the development of child and youth mental health services for the lifetime of Sharing the Vision, up to 2030. Importantly, the HSE propose to continue to update and provide the Mental Health Commission and the department of health with their progress against these actions through regular and ongoing engagement.
The Department of Health continues to examine on each of these, which revolve around legislation, monitoring, future resource provision, and draft standards that are wider than just mental health. Further detailed consideration of these recommendations will continue.
Notably, I announced a further €10million at the National Sharing the Vision Conference last week to support clinical programmes and youth mental health, highlighting the Government’s recognition of mental health as a central component to overall health. Four recommendations also sit with the Department of Health.
