It has been reported that €12 million is being diverted from the mental health budget to other areas of the health service.

This is NOT ok. 

In last October's budget €35 million of development funding was ring-fenced for mental health. According to media reports €12 million of that money is to be diverted to other areas - more than one-third of reserved funds. We have been told that this €12 million will be made available to mental health in next year’s budget.

This is not good enough. There are people who are suffering from a mental health crisis right now. They can’t wait until 2017.

We have also been told that the €12 million is coming from “time-related savings” or delays in recruiting staff for the mental health service. Why is it ok to divert these funds to other areas of the health service?

Why can’t these savings be spent in mental health where there is also a huge need?

We believe it is unacceptable that funding for mental health continues to prop up other areas of the health service. It doesn't show parity of esteem between mental and physical health and proves that we still have a struggle on our hands to ensure mental health is taken seriously and given the priority it deserves.

We need to let our current caretaker Government, and whoever the next Government will be, know that we are NOT ok with this. 

We believe it is unacceptable and this is the second time already this year that mental health funding has been unfairly targeted.

The College of Psychiatrists in Ireland has described the plans as "scandalous and discriminatory".

In a letter to the Irish Times on Wednesday April 20th Catherine Brogan Executive Director of Samaritans Ireland wrote: “If we are serious about addressing mental ill health and suicide in Ireland, the resources allocated for mental health services must be protected. Anything less is unacceptable.”

 Mr John Saunders, Chairman of the Mental Health Commission, said, “There was a commitment in the programme for government to ring-fence funding and so any decision to take back a substantial amount of that €35m would be a clear reneging of that commitment.” 

“Mental health has in the past been identified as an easy target for diverting funding to other healthcare areas, which are perceived to be more important.  We have been told that the economy is recovering.  It’s time to embed the recovery in mental health and maintain its funding,” he added.

As it stands, Mental Health is currently only 6% of the overall health budget - it's 11% in the UK. At a time when we are all being encouraged to reach out and ask for help - the next step is having the adequate and appropriate support there.

Please sign and share. Thank you.

Here are some articles:

Labour’s Kathleen Lynch resists loss of mental health funds http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/labour-s-kathleen-lynch-resists-loss-of-mental-health-funds-1.2614070

Plans to divert mental health funds criticised http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/plans-to-divert-mental-health-funds-criticised-by-psychiatrists-1.2614711

This is Mental Health Reform's statement: https://www.mentalhealthreform.ie/blog/unacceptable-that-mental-health-funds-continue-to-prop-up-other-areas-in-the-health-service/

This is the College of Psychiatrists in Ireland's statement http://blog.irishpsychiatry.ie/college-dismayed-at-talk-of-mental-health-funding-dispersal/​

In a letter to the Irish Times on Wednesday April 20th Catherine Brogan Executive Director of Samaritans Ireland wrote: “If we are serious about addressing mental ill health and suicide in Ireland, the resources allocated for mental health services must be protected. Anything less is unacceptable.”