Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler TD, has announced further investment in primary care psychology and mental health as part of the Government 2022 Waiting List Action Plan, launched today by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD.
Minister Butler stated that “the plan provides for a dedicated €5.5 million to significantly reduce the number of children and young people under 18 waiting to avail of these vital services.
“This investment builds on the €4 million initiative that I launched last August to tackle these challenging waiting lists and has since enabled more than 1,600 young people to avail of the primary care psychology service and access necessary supports”. “In recognition of the positive outcomes of this initiative, further investment of approximately €1.4 million was secured to ensure its continued operation in the first quarter of this year.”
Minister Butler continued that “the additional €5.5 million provided for under the Waiting List Action Plan will enhance the capacity of primary care psychology services, placing it on a more sustainable footing over the longer term. This investment will allow recruitment of additional psychologists, psychology assistants and counsellors to provide supports to those that need them most, as early as possible. A target of a further 3,300 children and young people will be seen by the service and removed from the waiting list as these new staff come onboard during 2022”.
Finally Minister Butler also welcomed the allocation under the Plan of a further €1.3 million for Counselling in Primary Care and €9.1 million to support priority community areas, including child and adolescent mental health services, autism and other areas.