Mental Health Reform calls for expansion of 24/7 crisis services

Helen Gillespie Brown, chief executive of Mental Health Reform, at Leinster House. The organisation is calling on the Government to invest an additional €320m in Ireland’s mental health services in Budget 2027. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography

More 24/7 crisis services are urgently needed to support people experiencing mental health difficulties outside hospital emergency departments, Mental Health Reform is due to tell the Oireachtas health committee on Wednesday.

The committee is due to examine how emergency departments respond to patients presenting in mental health crisis.

Mental Health Reform chief executive Helen Gillespie Brown is expected to call for the faster rollout of crisis resolution and home treatment teams, as well as more 24-hour community crisis supports.

“This would enable more people to receive intensive support at home, reduce hospital admissions, and support earlier intervention during crisis,” Ms Gillespie Brown is expected to say.

She will caution that hospitals have become the default point of access, but will say these are “often the least appropriate setting in which that care can be delivered”.

She will refer to the National Self-Harm Registry, which showed previously "the typical age of onset for self-harm is 10-14 years, underlining the importance of early intervention". 

It also found hospital emergency departments saw 12,621 self-harm presentations in 2024.

Mental Health Reform will say emergency departments have become the only option for people experiencing suicidal thoughts, severe anxiety, psychosis, trauma-related distress, or self-harm.

Ms Gillespie Brown will call for a range of long-term solutions, including more community supports for people before they reach crisis point, pointing to the likes of Solace Cafes in Cork and Waterford.

Mental Health Reform on Tuesday called for an additional €320m investment in mental health services in Budget 2027.

In its pre-budget submission, the organisation called for at least 7% of the overall health budget to be allocated to mental health next year.

“Demand for mental health support is rising, yet less than 6% of the total health budget is currently spent on mental health,” it said.

The group called for investment in community crisis services, primary care psychology, youth mental health, workforce capacity, and voluntary and community mental health services.

It also pointed to existing statistics around youth mental health, saying: “Approximately 51,000 people in mental health crisis present to emergency departments in Ireland each year, while more than 16,804 young people are waiting over a year to see a primary care psychologist, a 14% increase from the previous year.” 

It called for urgent investment, saying this could help “reduce unacceptably long waiting lists". 

Investment should include hiring permanent staff instead of relying on agency staff for struggling services, it urged, saying this would ensure people get "support earlier, in the right setting, and from teams equipped to deliver high‑quality care". 

It also called for dedicated funding for youth mental health.