On Tuesday, the Sharing the Vision - National Mental Health Conference took place at Dublin Castle.
The Conference was convened and opened by Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler with contributions from An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
Opening the Conference, the Waterford Minister said: “Over the lifetime of this Government, investment in mental health services has grown to €1.3 billion. This announcement of a further €10 million to support the clinical programmes and youth mental health, further highlights the Government’s recognition of mental health as a central component to overall health.
“I look forward to working with colleagues in my Department and the HSE to identify service improvements and innovations that can be underpinned and delivered through this funding.”
The Conference included a specific focus on lived experience and recovery, and the positive benefits of embedding lived experience in policy implementation and service development.
Minister Butler stated: “Ensuring that the voice of patients, and lived experience is embedded in mental health services and policy implementation is so important.
“Mental health services should not be developed in a vacuum, and only by ensuring that the voice of those who use services, and those who have experienced mental health difficulties and have experienced recovery, should always be taken into account.
“Only by doing so can we ensure that our policies and services are modern, and person-centred. In 2023, 19,000 people accessed Mental Health Recovery Colleges across Ireland. These colleges have been developed with the voice of those at the very heart of its model, those that are receiving support from these services.
“The success of these colleges further exemplifies how listening to the lived experience, can positively impact on health services.
Minister Butler concluded by emphasising the need for continued investment in mental health services, across the spectrum of prevention and early intervention, through to acute specialist services:
“This week’s event has further highlighted the core issue that mental health challenges can impact on anyone, at any stage of life.
“The central theme that there is ‘no health, without mental health’ exemplifies the need to ensure that mental health services, and modern, person-centred, and accessible to everyone.”
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