We are a group of Transition Years from Clonakilty, participating in Young Social Innovators 2022. Our YSI group is called Mental Wealth and our aim is to reduce the cost of mental health services in Ireland and to make them more accessible to the people who need them. 

After doing extensive research before starting our project we uncovered some very startling facts. In 2020, the Independent reported that it can cost anywhere between €80 and €130 for a session with a therapist or a counsellor, which is far too expensive for people to get the help they need. 

There are 2559 children in Ireland on the waiting list for an appointment at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), with County Cork and Kerry being the worst affected areas in Ireland, with nearly 500 children waiting for an appointment. 

In Budget 2022, the Irish Government allocated €37 million to Mental Health Services including €10 million, once off Covid-19 funding. As it stands there is not enough funding to facilitate the need for mental health services in Ireland, so we would like to know what happens when there is no longer once off Covid-19 funding available.

As a group, we would like to see more funding given to the Mental Health Sector in Ireland or the price of a session with a therapist or a counsellor reduced in Budget 2023, and we hope that this petition will help us achieve that.