Budget 2026 shows alarming lack of commitment for mental health – Sorca Clarke, TD

Sinn Féin spokesperson on mental health, Sorca Clarke, TD, says Budget 2026 was a critical opportunity to deliver genuine reform and sustained investment in mental health services, yet it offers nothing more than recycled commitments and missed opportunities.

Speaking today Teachta Clarke said: “If you want to know how much the government care about mental health you only need to look at this year’s budget. It reads as a copy and paste of last year’s budget. There are no details about any new measures for mental health. No ambition, no urgency. They couldn’t have put less effort into it if they tried.

“Our mental health services are in crisis. Waiting lists are at record highs, community mental health teams overstretched, youth services under strain, services severely understaffed and under resourced. Government’s lack of clear new measures is indefensible.

“There are people who are in crisis, waiting months, sometimes years, for help, and this budget offers them nothing but recycled words.

“Mental health has been treated as another tick the box exercise in the budget, a paragraph to be included, not a crisis to be solved. An afterthought.

“Government are banking on words rather than action, and people can see through the spin. A one-size-fits-all budget will never fix inequities in access to mental health care.

“Sinn Féin on the other hand, has detailed solutions. We have a mental health action plan, a fully costed five-year strategy that would give hope to people in need by transforming our services. This is what is needed to move us in the right direction. Our Alternative Budget, lays out real investment, real reform, and real support for people struggling every day.”