Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler TD, has today confirmed the details of €10 million in additional once off funding for mental health, that was announced on Budget Day.
Minister Butler stated that:
"It was of huge importance to me to ensure that as many individuals as
possible, benefited from this funding. With this in mind, over €7 million will be allocated to improve the experiences of people using mental health inpatient units, day centres, community mental health teams and community residences in every community across the country. Funding will be used to improve the physical environments of some centres and enhance the range of social and therapeutic supports available."
As part of this funding, €1.8 million will be made available to mental health services for the replacement of fleet with green or hybrid vehicles in every Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO).
Minister Butler continued:
"I have also sought to ensure that this fund will impact on particular groups of individuals and specific areas of mental health service delivery. Over €1 million has been allocated to enhance services and supports in areas such perinatal mental health, men’s mental health, trauma informed care, ethnic minorities, including the Traveller and Roma communities, eating disorders and dual diagnosis."
Areas of investment at CHO level include, for example, the allocation of €150,000 to improve and enhance acute inpatient mental health care in CHO 5; €500,000 for mental health day services provision in the East Cork area; and €170,000 for the continued operation of the mental health crisis café in Galway.
Almost €3 million will be made available to the community and voluntary sector, including €1 million in funding for the continued delivery of free counselling sessions through MyMind, who deliver support in 17 different languages to people nationwide. This is particularly important given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Ireland’s population.
Funding of €1 million will be distributed by Mental Health Ireland through their extensive network of grassroots mental health organisations in local communities nationwide. A call for applications to avail of such funding will be advertised shortly by Mental Health Ireland.
Minister Butler concluded:
"I am confident that this funding will lead to real improvements in the experiences of people using our mental health services and look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to enhance our mental health system now and in the future."
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