Mental health groups seek 10% of budget health spend for sector

The Government must invest at least an additional €100 million in mental health in the forthcoming budget, Mental Health Reform has said.

It has called for the mental health spend to be increased to 10 per cent of the overall health budget by 2024 while adding that the “ongoing mental health crisis” has been exacerbated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mental Health Reform is a national coalition of 81 organisations working across the voluntary and community sector.

In its pre-budget submission, published on Wednesday, the umbrella group recommended additional investment of €100 million in Budget 2023, which takes place on September 27th, including €25 million to maintain existing levels of service and €75 million for the development of new services.

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The coalition said pressures on the State’s mental health system have reached “unsustainable levels” and Government action “must be taken immediately”.

It has called for additional investment of €2 million to improve the standard of care in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) as well as €10 million for supports for “priority groups”, such as LGBTI+ people, ethnic minorities and the prison population.

Mental Health Reform has also recommended that €2 million be allocated towards resourcing legislative changes in the reform of the Mental Health Act 2001.

Róisín Clarke, interim chief executive of Mental Health Reform, said the pandemic had led to a “significant worsening” of mental health in Ireland.

“The prevalence of mental health difficulties is particularly acute among children and young people,” she said.

“As of May 2022, there were 4,294 people on a waiting list for CAMHS. This represents almost a 60 per cent increase since 2020.

“Despite the high level of need, there are only four public inpatient CAMHS units available nationally, with one of those units only providing care to adolescents.

“Delays to access services can have harmful effects on children and young people who require urgent mental health care. Early intervention is critical to preventing the deterioration of mental health difficulties and reducing the need for more complex and costly treatment.”

Ms Clarke also said the rising cost of living and inflation was felt “even more intensely” by those with a mental health difficulty.

“It is abundantly clear that the level of investment in mental health services is insufficient to meet the needs of the population,” Ms Clarke added.

“For many years, funding for mental health has stalled between 5 and 6 per cent of Ireland’s total health budget.

“This is less than half of what the recommended spend is internationally. The UK and France spend between 14-15 per cent of their health budget on mental health.”