Written Answers Nos. 883-888
883. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Health to outline her Department's approach to raising awareness of schizophrenia; the supports in place for those with schizophrenia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45151/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides funding for the organisation Shine, who progress awareness raising and support initiatives for people with mental health difficulties, and who specialise in supporting people who experience psychosis and schizophrenia.
Originally incorporated as the Schizophrenia Association of Ireland, Shine was established in April 1979. Shine works to uphold the rights and address the needs of individuals affected by mental illness through the provision of high-quality services and the continuous improvement of their quality of life.
Shine delivers a variety of programmes and initiatives through its Shine’s Recovery Services focus on empowering people at different stages of their recovery journey by offering tailored supports, including information provision, one-to-one recovery key working, family support, peer support groups, and recovery education programmes.
More information on Shine’ services can be found on their website: www.shine.ie/get-support/support-for-individuals.
Shine also run the annual Green Ribbon Campaign, the national campaign to reduce stigma on mental health issues targeting all sectors of society. They also run other awareness raising initiatives and campaigns, including the Psychosis Surbey in partnership with the HSE’s National Clinical Programme on Early Intervention in Psychosis. The latest survey highlighted the challenges people face, and unfortunately the persistence of stigma around psychosis. The findings can be viewed here: www.shine.ie/news/eip-survey-report-2024-press-release-07-05-2025.
The HSE have further information about living with schizophrenia and sources of support on their website: www2.hse.ie/conditions/schizophrenia/living-with/.
I have expanded services for those with psychosis, in particular our specialist services. Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) is an evidenced-based approach that can transform the experience and outcomes of young people facing psychosis. The EIP Programme is funded with over €5 million total funding on an annual recurring basis. As a result, 5 adult multi-disciplinary teams are now operational, with an additional EIP CAMHS team in place. Four additional EIP teams are in the process of recruitment and development based on funding secured in recent 2025 and 2026 budgets.
885. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health whether for procurement spend, a purchase order can be raised within her Department's financial management systems without reference to a contract, framework agreement, procurement process or other authorising arrangement; if so, the circumstances in which this may occur [45167/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraA purchase order is only raised on request of the unit procuring the good or service on the basis that public procurement guidelines have been complied with.
886. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health whether an invoice can be paid by her Department without an associated purchase order having first been raised; if so, the circumstances in which this may occur; the number and value of payments made during quarter one of 2026 which were not associated with a purchase order; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45185/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are a number of circumstances where an invoice can be paid without an associated purchase order being raised. This includes invoices relating to secondments, invoices resulting from grant agreements, invoices from international bodies, legal costs associated with settlements or awards, and invoices from other Departments and agencies including the HSE.
In quarter one of 2026, 824 payments totalling €7,116,084,068 were made that were not associated with a purchase order. Nearly all of the value payments of these payments were to aegis bodies, agencies including the HSE, which are under the remit of the Department.
887. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the total expenditure on mental health services in each of the past five years; and the percentage of the overall health budget allocated to mental health during that period. [45194/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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, up over 50% since I assumed the role of Minister for Mental Health in 2020.
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.
The table below outlines the budget allocation for HSE Mental Health Services since 2020.
The OECD document New Benchmark for Mental Health Systems: tackling the social and economic costs of mental ill-health, notes the methodological challenges that exist in collecting and 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 other countries. In addition, some countries include only government expenditure, while others include all expenditure in their estimates. These challenges make it exceptionally difficult to meaningfully compare Irish spending on mental health with that in other OECD countries.
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. Table 1.3 in the document New Benchmark for Mental Health Systems: tackling the social and economic costs of mental ill-health (www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2021/06/a-new-benchmark-for-mental-health-systems_c0cce868/4ed890f6-en.pdf) provides a helpful comparison of spending across countries, colour coded to indicate comparative performance. Ireland is shown as having average performance in this table.
In Ireland, focusing solely on the health budget, Budget 2026 brought the mental health allocation to 6% of the total allocated health budget.
However, it should be noted that funding for mental health supports is dispersed across many areas of Government, and there is no single funding figure to reflect this. 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.
It also 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.
888. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the number of vacant mental health posts currently approved but unfilled, including psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers, and counsellors. [45195/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
