Sorca Clarke
Question:1038. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the total mental health budget for 2026; and the proportion of overall health spending this represents. [72131/25]
View answerTuesday, 16 December 2025
Questions (1038, 1131)
Sorca Clarke
Question:1131. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the overall health budget allocation for 2026; the exact percentage allocated to mental health; and the way in which this compares with the Sláintecare target of 10% by 2030. [72454/25]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1038 and 1131 together.
The Government’s clear commitment to enhancing mental health services is shown by significant mental health funding increases in recent years. I would note that Budget 2026 saw a record allocation for mental health services of almost €1.6bn.
The additional funding for current expenditure in Budget 2026 for the Health Vote is €1.5 billion, bringing the total current allocation to €25.8 billion. This includes funding to maintain existing levels of service and for new service developments, including funding for the recruitment of 300 additional whole time equivalent staff within Mental Health in 2026.
This is the sixth year in a row in which the mental health budget has been increased. This increase in funding for mental health services represents a significant investment which will enable continued policy implementation and service improvement in line with our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, and our national suicide and self-harm reduction strategy Connecting for Life, across a broad continuum from mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, through to specialist mental health services.
This year’s budget provided the opportunity to focus on investing in crisis support and suicide prevention; youth mental health and CAMHS, and expanding the National Clinical Programmes.
The HSE has published its National Service Plan for 2026, setting out how the HSE will operationalise the Department’s priorities funded in Budget 2026, including the key priorities of improved access, quality and safety for those who use our services and value for money for the public more broadly.
The National Service Plan includes HSE plans, targets and timelines for specific measures to be progressed in 2026
It should be noted that mental health funding has increased significantly since 2020, with the table below outlining the budget allocation for HSE Mental Health Services between 2020 and 2025:
|
NSP Allocation |
2019 €m |
2020 €m |
2021 €m |
2022 €m |
2023 €m |
2024 €m |
2025 €m |
|
Mental Health |
987 |
1,031 |
1,114 |
1,159 |
1,227 |
1,338 |
1,458 |
While Sláintecare recommends that 10% of the health budget should be ringfenced for mental health, it is important to note that the mental health budget does not capture all spending on mental health under the health budget. For example, the figure of just under €1.6 billion does not include funding for other parts of the health service that provide mental health supports, such as Primary Care, Disability services, liaison mental health in acute hospitals, some dual diagnosis (addiction and mental health) services, and mental health and well-being promotion.
In addition, it does not include either spending by other Departments on services that incorporate psychological or mental health supports, such as Tusla, the Department of Education, the Prison and Probation Services, Youth Justice, or Social Protection.
The OECD has noted similar methodological challenges when comparing mental health spending across countries. One significant issue when trying to make comparisons is the scope of services that are included. Dementia services in Ireland, for example, do not fall under the mental health budget, while they do in some other countries. In addition, some countries include only government expenditure, while others include all expenditure in their estimates. The OECD document New Benchmark for Mental Health Systems: tackling the social and economic costs of mental ill-health provides some estimates of mental health expenditure relative to total health expenditure.
Notwithstanding these methodological challenges, the OECD note a range of levels in mental health spending, from 4% to 15% of health spending, with only five countries spending more than 10% of their budget on mental health.