Dan Neville
Ceist:371 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Health and Children the percentage allocation to the mental health service of the total budget for the health services for 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2004. [20348/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 6 July 2004
Ceisteanna (339)
Freagraí scríofa
The percentage allocation to the mental health services of the total non-capital budget for the health service in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2004 is as follows:
1990 — 10.7%
1995 — 9.3%
2000 — 7.7%
2004 — 6.69% (estimated — source: Revised Estimates for Public Service 2004).
When evaluating these figures, it must be borne in mind that in-patient care has always been the costliest element of the mental health service and, with the consistent reduction in psychiatric hospital bed numbers, and the ongoing transfer of intellectually disabled and elderly patients to other settings, it is to be expected that expenditure proportional to other services would fall.
Since 1997, approximately €90 million additional revenue funding has been invested in the mental health services. In the main, this funding is being used to provide additional medical and health professional staff for expanding community mental health services, to increase child and adolescent services, to expand the later-life psychiatric services, to provide liaison psychiatric services in general hospitals and to enhance the support provided to voluntary agencies.