3162. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Health if her Department has undertaken an evaluation of the effectiveness of new initiatives including the Navigator digital platform, the men's counselling programme and crisis resolution teams; and if so, if she will provide the outcome measures used to assess their success. [55025/26]

As Minister for Mental Health, I launched the navigator signposting tool designed to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 14 to 34 across Ireland.

Navigator was launched in 2025 in collaboration with spunout, my Department and the (HSE). The signposting tool, a Programme for Government commitment, was developed by spunout in response to the challenges young people face in accessing mental health support, including stigma, low mental health literacy, and fragmented access to services. This innovative web-based and mobile-first tool offers anonymous, immediate, and personalised access to mental health information, resources, and services, addressing the gap in the availability of a single, national repository for tailored youth mental health support.

Counselling/Talk Therapies

The National Counselling Service provides free counselling therapy to adults who experienced childhood abuse or neglect, are former residents of a mother and baby home. They also provide counselling to those with medical cards, through the Counselling in Primary Care service (CiPC).

As Minister I announced €2 million in funding in 2025 to provide access to a suite of new talk therapies and counselling supports specifically tailored for men. Access to the services began from September 2025, with over 5,200 men availing of services as of 31 May 2026.

This initiative is embedded within Ireland’s approach to mental health policy implementation. Sharing the Vision – A Mental Health Policy for Everyone, and Connecting for Life, Ireland’s national strategy for suicide prevention, clearly state that talk therapies should be considered a first-line treatment option for most people who experience mental health difficulties.

The funding is targeted at assisting with stigma reduction and to actively encourage men who otherwise would not usually avail of counselling to seek help with their mental health, to assist men in accessing mental health services, and to provide much-needed support for men experiencing a mental health crisis.

The dedicated new initiative of free counselling for men has already had a significant response, with over 20,000 free counselling sessions delivered since the launch in September.

In the most recent Budget, I provided funding for a new talking therapies fund for providing Community Therapy Services. This community therapy fund will provide for an expansion of counselling provision through local community-based organisations nationwide.

Outside of mental health services, HSE Primary Care services also provide key mental health supports, including psychology services.

Mental health crisis supports

Crisis mental health supports, including those with 24/7 coverage, are currently provided across a number of settings and services, including hospital based services, out of hours services such as CAMHS on call, and non-governmental organisation services such as crisis phone and text supports, funded by HSE Mental Health Services.

The National Implementation and Monitoring Committee for Sharing the Vision: A Mental Health Policy for Everyone (2020-2030) is currently overseeing a piece of work by the HSE Implementation Group to bring together the range of available out-of-hours and crisis services and supports, with a view to aligning and streamlining supports and identifying any potential gaps in service provision. It is envisaged that this work will form the basis of an Adult Crisis Response Framework. This project is currently in an advanced state of preparation and is expected to be initiated formally before end-2026.

In addition, I have overseen the rollout of a range of out of hours supports for people experiencing mental health difficulties as alternatives to Emergency Departments.

Crisis Resolution Services

The model of care for Crisis Resolution Services was developed as a direct recommendation of Sharing the Vision, Ireland’s national mental health policy. It recognises that people who are experiencing a mental health crisis need specialist services to provide timely brief intensive supports to keep people safe.

• Crisis Resolution Teams: These comprise of teams of mental health professionals who work out of hours to meet people in a crisis and provide rapid assessment and intensive intervention. There are 7 pilot Crisis Resolution Teams currently operational in Galway, Sligo/Leitrim, Cork city (two teams), Waterford City , County, South Dublin/Wicklow, and Limerick.

• Crisis Cafés: Solace Cafes provide a welcoming, non-clinical safe environment in the style of a café where people can go at evenings and weekends. The Cafés provides a range of support for those who needed to use its services including crisis support, signposting, peer support, and community support. The Cafes are now open in Cork City, South Dublin and Sligo and Waterford. An additional Solace Café has opened this year in Limerick.

Additional funding has been provided for more Crisis Resolution Teams and Solace Cafes in Budget 2026, for Donegal, Kerry and the Midlands (Tullamore/Westmeath).

Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) Service

The Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) service is critically important safety net for people in suicidal crisis and the Minister fully supports the intention within the second Sharing the Vision implementation plan to expand these services to provide full coverage nationwide. These services provide a timely response to requests for assessment of patients in suicidal crisis from GPs, and the assessments often take place in primary care settings.

The SCAN service was originally developed under the National Clinical Programme for Self-harm and Suicide-related Ideation (NCPSHI) which was introduced in Irish public hospital emergency departments in 2014. Primarily delivered by clinical nurse specialists with support from a consultant psychiatrist in each hospital area, the programme supports people presenting with suicidal ideation as well as self-harm.

The model of care for the service envisages a dedicated mental health assessment room within hospitals to provide a more appropriate environment for assessments to take place. Even when the full network of alternative Crisis Resolution Services is in place, we know people in distress will still present to emergency departments for support. Given most acute mental health in-patient units are co-located with our acute hospital network, it’s important people in distress are assessed in clinically appropriate environments when they present for support. I have allocated funding for the recruitment of additional SCAN nurses in 2026.

Specialist Crisis Nurses in hospitals

Under funding which I allocated in Budget 2026, the HSE will establish specialist nursing teams in the emergency departments of all Model 4 hospitals out-of-hours, made up of Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists to support people in crisis. By placing specialist nursing teams in our emergency departments out-of-hours, coupled with the expansion of community alternatives such as crisis resolution teams and crisis cafes, we are fundamentally changing how we respond to the needs of people in distress.

As the question raises operational issues, I have also referred it to the HSE for direct reply to you.