€50m mental health investment is ‘first step’

MHR: It is important that all of the EUR 38 million development funding is used for new developments

The allocation of an additional € 50 million for mental health services in the 2021 budget has been described by activists as a "positive first step".

Mental Health Reform (MHR) coalition group chief executive Fiona Coyle said the pledge of new funding was a government confirmation of the mental health impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She also said they were "a positive step towards improving access to mental health services in line with our new national mental health policy that shares the vision".

"There is no doubt about the magnitude of the challenges our health services, and therefore our mental health services, are facing," said Coyle, whose organization represents more than 70 organizations working in the mental health field.

MHR previously estimated the government had to pour an additional € 80 million into the sector as services struggled to cope with the increased demands caused by Covid-19.

As yesterday's announcement missed MHR's pre-budget submission by EUR 30 million, Coyle added that the planned investment of EUR 38 million in new mental health services and EUR 12 million in support of existing services would necessarily result in capacity expansion must lead.

"It is therefore crucial that the entire € 38 million in mental health development funding be used solely for new developments," continued Coyle.

“We know that the cost of the Health Service Executive to maintain existing levels of mental health services for 2021 can be well above the government-set EUR 12 million.

"Development funds cannot be used to fill these gaps, as has consistently been done in the past."

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