Mental health budget investment must be matched by reforms – Roche

Urgent reform to Ireland’s mental health emergency response is needed for those in acute psychological distress, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Fine Gael spokesperson on Mental Health, Deputy Pete Roche said: “For too many people in Ireland, the catastrophe is not far away – it is happening every day in the corridors of our Emergency Departments.

“When someone in acute psychological distress seeks help, their first and often only option is to present to A&E. But they are met by a system that is not designed to receive them.”

Speaking to mark World Mental Health Day 2025, themed ‘Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies’, Deputy Roche said the message this year could not be clearer – access to services saves lives.

“When someone reaches the point of unbearable emotional pain, their first and often only option is to go to A&E. They don’t’ arrive there with a broken bone or visible wound, but with invisible suffering – and what they meet there is a system that is not designed to receive them.”

Deputy Roche described scenes where individuals in crisis are forced to wait hours or overnight in crowded emergency rooms, surrounded by noise and distress, with little privacy or understanding.

“We would never ask a patient in cardiac arrest sit in a waiting room for hours while their condition worsens. Yet we do that every day to people in the throes of a mental health crisis. This is not compassion. This is not care. And it is not sustainable.”

Deputy Roche says the commitment within Budget 2026 is sustained investment in mental health services and is not only a financial commitment, but moral.

“This €1.6 billion allocation – the highest ever – sends a clear message that mental health is a national priority. The pledge to recruit 300 additional whole-time-equivalent staff is a vital step toward building the capacity we need to respond with speed, compassion, and expertise,” he said.

“But investment must be matched by reform. We need to ensure these resources translate into real, accessible support for those in crisis — in every community, at every hour.”

He reiterated that continued funding must go hand-in-hand with structural change, particularly the creation of a dedicated crisis-response pathway for mental health emergencies.

He also emphasised the need for early intervention for children, referencing data from Pieta showing that over one-third of those seeking help are under 18.

“People presenting in crisis are not numbers on a page. They are our neighbours, our colleagues, our children, our parents. They deserve to be met with expertise, understanding and hope, not with confusion and queues,” he said.

Deputy Roche highlighted the fragmented nature of current services – including crisis cafés, liaison psychiatry teams, and 24/7 helplines – describing them as “inconsistent and often inaccessible.” He urged the creation of a national integrated crisis pathway to ensure that “no one in mental distress is left behind a waiting-room curtain.”

“When a person reaches out for help, that moment is sacred. It may be their first and last attempt to live. As legislators, as leaders, as fellow human beings, we must ensure the hand they reach for is there to hold them – not make them wait.”