'Broken' mental health service in need of €85m

Mental Health Reform chief executive Fiona Coyle is calling on the Government to invest €85m in Ireland’s mental health services in Budget 2022 to address the long-term mental health impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography

Ireland is facing a psychiatric “shadow pandemic” where the burden of trauma will have a profound impact on mental health and primary care services for many years, according to a pre-budget submission.

Mental Health Reform called on the Government to invest €85m in mental health services next year – including €65m on developing new services.

MHR chief executive officer Fiona Coyle said the country “cannot go back to a broken system”, dogged by long waiting lists, staff shortages and a lack of available therapeutic support in many areas.

She said Ireland spends 6% of its overall health budget on mental health, compared to 10-13% in Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK – and urged the Government to bring the level to 10% by 2024.

MHR wants the following investment in Budget 2022:

• Recruitment of primary care psychologists and assistant psychologists to reduce waiting times and divert referrals from specialist services;
• €2m in national advocacy services for children and adults with mental health difficulties in hospital, prison, residences and in the community;
• €6.5m for the national expansion of the CAMHS Connect model to improve out-of-hours crisis intervention mental health services for children and young people;
• €7.8m in national clinical programmes to meet specific mental health needs, including eating disorders and psychosis;
• €15m in the community and voluntary sector to support the delivery of mental health services, including counselling and psychotherapy;
• Affordable housing for people with mental health disabilities, including €1m to maintain 10 tenancy sustainment officer posts;
• €5.5m to improve mental health supports in the prison system.

The investment in national clinical programmes includes €4m to continue the rollout of the promised three new eating disorder teams and “sufficient funding” to complete the delivery of all 16 planned teams across the country.

Ms Coyle said Covid-19 was “a mental health emergency" as well as a physical health one, adding: “There is a deep and growing concern that the largest and longest- term consequence of this pandemic will be felt in the significant mental health impact in the months and years ahead."

MHR is a national coalition representing 77 community and voluntary organisations.

“Our mental health system is under severe pressure with long waiting lists, staff shortages and a lack of therapeutic support in many areas,” said Ms Coyle. 

“The pandemic has further exposed these shortfalls as mental health services struggle to meet increasing demand.”