€35m restored to mental health budget

The Government has restored its promised €35m annual mental health budget for 2015 after slashing €15m off it last year.

The commitment to ring-fence €35m annually is contained in the Programme for Government and there was some expectation that the slashed €15m would be added onto the figure for next year.

However, that was not the case, prompting some disappointment among those working for improvements in the mental health services.

Chairman of the Mental Health Commission John Saunders said that while the €35m that will go towards improving community services in 2015 was “very welcome”, there was “some expectation that, after last year, there would be some attempt to make up the cut”.

“Some people might have anticipated that there would be an extra €15m, but she [Mental Health Minister Kathleen Lynch] didn’t do it,” Mr Saunders said.

VISIT OUR DEDICATED BUDGET 2015 SECTION FOR MORE NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Former Cork hurler and mental health campaigner Conor Cusack tweeted his disappointment last night that €50m was not set aside for 2015.

“Hugely disappointing the Government failed to fulfil its promise of €50m funding for mental services this year,” he wrote. “Very hurt to see the opposition parties and Independents use the deaths of our people through suicide as a stick to beat the Government with and have no accurate information or facts to back up their arguments with. Shame on them, shame on the Government, shame on Dáil Éireann.”

Mr Cusack went public on his own battles with mental illness last year.

Yesterday, Ms Lynch said the Coalition hadn’t decided how the €35m would be spent in the community.

She said it was not about “handing it out”, that instead they would ask those working in the community to identify the gaps and they would see how this compared with their own views. However, they did intend to beef up the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, adult community mental health teams (including psychiatry of old age) and specialist community mental health teams. There would also be training for GPs in spotting the early signs of eating disorders as the mental health disorder with the highest death rate, Ms Lynch said.

There would be further investment in suicide prevention and the development of a forensic mental health community team.

Ms Lynch said the €35m “brings overall funding to €125m specifically earmarked for mental health and suicide prevention since this Government came into office”.

VISIT OUR DEDICATED BUDGET 2015 SECTION FOR MORE NEWS AND ANALYSIS