“Smoke and mirrors” from Government over mental health funding says TD

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for Mental Health, Mark Ward TD has accused the Government of “talking out of both sides of their mouth” in addressing mental health issues in Ireland.

Ward said that Mental Health National Clinical Programmes did not receive any funding for new posts to expand clinical program services in 2023, which he says is tantamount to an “admission of failure” on part of the Government.

The Dublin Mid-West TD said, “I cannot fathom why Mental Health National Clinical Programmes did not receive any funding for new posts in 2023.”

“It is like the Government has thrown in the towel and admitted that they just cannot fix the problems that they have created in mental health services.”

Ward expressed concern that the lack of funding would affect the services provided by the National Clinical Programme, which treats people suffering from issues surrounding suicidal ideation, self-harm, eating disorders, and treatment of ADHD.

“We heard from the Mental Health Commissions report into CAMHS that young people are falling off a cliff edge when they transition from CAMHS to adult mental health services, and many are lost to follow up.”

“Having no new funding for services in 2023 means that some more of our young people could fall through the cracks.”

“We are approaching budget for 2024 and if the 2023 budget was anything to go by then we can expect the same smoke and mirrors approach to mental health funding.”

“The Government says mental health is a priority, but they are speaking out of both sides of their mouth when it comes to the provision of mental health care,” Ward said.