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In highlighting World Mental Health Day, Minister Butler said: “The key message I would like to get across today is to remind people, of whatever age, to be conscious of the importance of protecting your mental health. Supports are there if needed.

“If anyone has mental health difficulties around anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts or otherwise, I urge them to seek help without delay. There are a wide range of mental health supports available in Ireland, through the HSE or the many agencies providing high quality care on its behalf.’’

The best way to find out what supports would best suit an individual is through their GP, or via information sign-posting such as: 

• Onlineat YourMentalHealth.ie which provides information and signposting on all mental health supports and services that are available nationally and locally provided by the HSE and its funded partners. 
• The FreephoneYour Mental Health Information Line is available 24 hours to find supports and services (1800 111 888).
• TextHELLO to 50808. The service provides emotional support to anyone experiencing a crisis through engagement in a text message ‘conversation’ with a trained and supervised volunteer.

Despite ongoing challenges to service delivery such as COVID-19 related restrictions or acknowledged staff recruitment issues in the health sector, good progress has been made this year to improve mental health care. This includes new initiatives and funding across areas such as Perinatal Mental Health, Eating Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Early Intervention in Psychosis, supports for Mental Health Commission compliance by approved centres, and the roll-out of digital technologies to complement traditional care.

Reflecting on the Government’s strong commitment to Mental Health, Minister Butler concluded that: “The total allocation for mental health services in 2023 is over €1.2 billion, which is another record budget. This significant investment provides for the continued implementation of measures under Sharing the Vision, Connecting for Life and Sláintecare. It represents the largest Mental Health Budget in the history of the State, increasing year on year for the third year in a row.”

Further detailed discussions are now taking place between the Department of Health and the HSE to progress both this and wider commitments of the 2023 Budget in the context of preparing the HSE Service Plan 2023.

ENDS //