Budget 2027 mental health announcement lacks detail – Clarke

“Government have plenty of strategies, but strategies do not deliver services without proper investment, staffing and resources,” said Sorca Clarke, TD, in a statement on Budget 27.

The SF deputy said the budget “gives us more headlines rather than answers”.

“The €108 million allocated for mental health comes with no breakdown. Government have not said how much is new money and how much simply maintains existing services. Until they do, people can’t know whether anything will change for those waiting for mental health care.

“Many of the commitments are simply re-announcements. ‘Expand’, ‘continue to establish’, ‘further increase’. There are no clarity, targets, timelines or staffing numbers for new early intervention youth services, more talk therapy hours, new ADHD pathways in CAMHS, or extra CAMHS capacity for people with intellectual disabilities.

“Six new Solace cafes, two community crisis resolution teams and 12 Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse teams sound welcome. But government haven’t said who will staff them, when they will open, or whether posts are funded and can actually be recruited. Opening a door means little without the clinicians behind it.

“The €1 million for Traveller suicide prevention is described as the largest single-year investment ever. That says more about years of neglect than about ambition. A community with suicide rates far above the national average needs far more than that.

“The need is clear. There are 4,800 young people waiting for CAMHS, and 673 waiting more than a year. Only five of the 25 promised Early Intervention in Psychosis teams are in place, and only 11 of 16 regional eating disorder teams are operational. The Mental Health Act 2026 means little on paper if the staff and resources aren’t there to deliver it.

“Sinn Féin’s alternative budget set out €71.5 million in new money to resource mental health services, alongside a fully costed mental health action plan. Over five years it would deliver universal counselling in primary care, a new child and youth mental health service, 24/7 mental health emergency rooms in major hospitals, and a multi-annual workforce plan. Government must now show how much of the €108 million is genuinely new and what it will deliver.

“Mental health care should work like any other essential service. Whether someone gets help should not depend on their postcode, their age or their income. This budget is a missed opportunity unless government publish the detail and deliver the funding and services they have promised.”