Micheál Martin
Ceist:1100. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health the progress of the commitments in the programme for Government on mental health issues. [18284/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 2 May 2017
Ceisteanna (1100)
Freagraí scríofa
Under the Programme for Partnership Government, a wide range of commitments to improve the mental health services were given. Progress is being made in a number of areas.
Stage one of the review of mental health policy has been concluded and the Expert Evidence Review report produced will help to determine the policy direction for a revision of A Vision for Change. I will be appointing an Oversight Group shortly to oversee the next stage of this work.
The National Taskforce on Youth Mental Health has been meeting monthly over the last year. As part of my commitment to ensuring that the voices of children and young people are at the heart of the work of the Taskforce, a series of consultations with young people are taking place.
A key commitment in the Programme relates to the provision of 24/7 mental health services. I am currently considering HSE proposals for an implementation plan for the provision of a 7-day service response across all HSE mental health service areas. This should be produced in the coming weeks.
In terms of funding, the Government has increased the Mental Health Budget from €826 million in 2016 to over €850 million this year. This will enable the continued development of a range of services including Adult, Child & Adolescent, Forensic and Specialist services in mental health. As part of this, funding of up to €6 million will be made available to meet the mental health needs of the homeless. In addition, €5 million has been provided to extend the Counselling In Primary Care (CIPC) programme to under 18s and the recruitment of 114 Assistant Psychologists is expected to take place later this year.
In addition, substantial funding has been provided in 2017 for Mental Health capital projects, most notably to commence the construction of the new forensic hospital at Portrane this year.
Many of the above initiatives are contingent upon the recruitment of the necessary staff. While difficulties in this area have been well-documented, mental health staffing has increased by around 200 over the last year to 9,717 WTEs. To increase the supply of key personnel, we have also funded an extra 130 undergraduate places for psychiatric nurses.
Finally, work is continuing on the preparation of the general scheme of a bill to amend the Mental Health Act 2001 based on the recommendations of the 2015 Expert Review Group on the 2001 Act.