Shay Brennan
Question:133. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health for an overview of the recently announced €3 million investment in mental health research; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4968/26]
View answerThursday, 22 January 2026
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Ireland’s national mental health policy ‘Sharing the Vision – A Mental Health Policy for Everyone’ was published in 2020 by the Department of Health, to enhance the provision of mental health services and supports during the period 2020-2030. Since 2022, the Department of Health has made additional, dedicated funding available each year to the Health Research Board (HRB), an aegis body under the Department of Health which funds health and social care research in the state, to fund new research, including under the new National Mental Health Research Strategy published in December 2024.
The recently announced €3 million investment in mental health research in January is the latest round of funding being directed by the Health Research Board into new research awards.
A grant of €1 million over five years has been made available from the HRB following an open competitive competition to establish a new all-island Collaborative Research Network in mental health. The new network will be led by a research team in Maynooth University, in partnership with the University of Galway, and the National Suicide Research Foundation at University College Cork. The aim of the network is to embed lived experience and co-production in mental health research, identify knowledge gaps, support training for researchers for varying backgrounds, support translation of research into policy, and foster all-island collaboration and international partnerships.
Additionally, €2 million will be invested by the HRB to support 10 new mental health research projects with a focus on priority and underserved groups through the Applied Partnership Award (APA) scheme, which brings together knowledge users and researchers to co-develop applied research projects that address real-world needs. Funding has also been awarded to projects across Ireland from ‘Improving the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Priority Population Groups’ to ‘Designing an Integrated Women’s Mental Health Service’. A full list of funded projects under this award can be found at the following link: [www.gov.ie/en/department-of-health/press-releases/minister-for-mental-health-mary-butler-announces-3-million-investment-in-mental-health-research/] .