Shari McDaid, Director of the brilliant organisation Mental Health Reform has expressed her worry that €12m of the budget allocated to mental health is being moved to other sectors of the health service.
McDaid addressed the controversial announcement by Minister for Health Leo Varadkar, saying she is ‘very concerned’ that the money will be used to ‘shore up’ other areas of the health service.
Although Varadkar said that the budget would be fully restored in 2017, she argues it should be restored this year as people cannot be expected to wait that long for their mental health issues to be addressed.
“I’d like to get that confidence and reassurance from the Minister for Health that it will be restored, this year, not just next year, so that the mental health service can cope with the thousands of people who need urgent mental health treatment.”
She added that the increased demand for services requires more investment rather than stretching of existing budgets.
McDaid is also advocating a wage increase for those working in mental health to entice new staff to the sector.
