All Members are anticipating the budget next week. I hope the Ministers for Finance and Health will be cognisant that next week is mental health week and next Thursday is World Mental Health Day. Page 5 of the programme for Government includes a commitment on mental health which recognises that early intervention is crucial. All Members are aware that 2,440 children and young people are on the CAMHS waiting list and more than 7,000 young children are awaiting primary care psychology services. The number of children being treated in adult institutions continues to rise. It stood at 68 in 2016, reached 82 in 2018 and stands at more than 40 so far this year. What are the Ministers for Finance and Health going to do to address this shameful situation?

I cannot speak for the Minister for Finance ahead of the budget. On mental health, I agree with the Deputy that early intervention is the way forward. I have prioritised investment in that area since taking up this job two years ago. There has been an increase of more than €300 million in funding for mental health, bringing the total allocation to more than €1 billion last year. The Deputy specifically referred to the CAMHS waiting list. We introduced 114 assistant psychologists and 20 psychologists to work with young people at primary care level in order to prevent them having to escalate into the very specialist CAMHS service. We are pursuing several other initiatives which I do not have time to detail now. I am happy to discuss the matter with the Deputy in any forum.