460. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health the actions being taken by her Department and the HSE to improve help-seeking behaviour among teenage boys and increase their engagement with mental health services; and whether any targeted initiatives have been developed through sporting, community or youth settings. [75109/26]

It is a priority for me, and for Government, to ensure that all children who require mental health services can access them in a timely manner.

All aspects of mental health care, including the specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), are being enhanced in line with the implementation of our mental health policy Sharing the Vision 2020-2030, our new suicide reduction policy Connecting for Life: 2026-2035 and the HSE National Service Plans.

The Government has provided record funding of nearly €1.6 billion for mental health in 2026. CAMHS receives approximately €191 million annually, an increase of almost 40% over the past four years. A further €127 million is provided to NGOs, many of which focus on young people.

Under Budget 2026, €10 million was provided to enhance youth mental health services. This included €1.3 million to support the provision of Jigsaw's primary care early intervention services for young people, including a service for the South-East based in Waterford City with outreach into South Kilkenny, South Wexford and West Waterford, and an extension of the service in Limerick into Clare.

I was delighted to have built on this investment by securing record funding for the sector in Budget 2027, with an additional €108 million for mental health services. At the centre of the package is an investment of €3.8 million to establish four new Jigsaw services in Dún Laoghaire and across counties Kildare, Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo and Leitrim. Jigsaw provides free support for young people aged 12 to 25 experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. Once operational next year, these new services will extend access to an estimated 135,000 additional young people across six counties, increasing national coverage of such services from 75% to 90%.

Similarly, under Budget 2026, €1 million was provided for talk therapies through various community and voluntary partners. This investment targeted identified gaps in service provision and took account of priority groups across the population. Under Budget 2027, I also announced further investment in two key community-based counselling and talk therapy initiatives, the Free Men's Counselling Programme, and the Community Therapy Fund. An additional €2.8 million in Budget 2027 will increase recurring funding for these programmes to €5.8 million annually, enabling the delivery of an additional 59,000 free counselling sessions each year. Since its launch, more than 8,200 men have engaged with the Free Men's Counselling Programme, many accessing support for the first time, with over 24,000 free counselling sessions delivered to date.

As the Deputy will be aware, HSE mental health supports range from prevention and early intervention to the specialist CAMHS service, which is for those under the age of 18 with moderate to severe mental health difficulties. Access to CAMHS is on the basis of prioritised clinical assessment, in line with the CAMHS Operational Guidelines.

In terms of access to wider supports for children, while CAMHS is not suitable for children or adolescents where their difficulties are primarily related to learning problems, social problems, or behavioural problems, there are many other services available to assist these young people such as HSE Primary Care Services, HSE Disability Services, TUSLA, Jigsaw, and the National Educational Psychology Services (NEPS). Similarly, organisations that provide support/clinical interventions at primary care level for young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties include Jigsaw (Online), My Mind, Turn2Me, and Spunout.

The HSE website www.yourmentalhealth.ie also provides information on how to mind your mental health, support others, or to find a service in your area. On the site you can find a wide range of information provided by HSE-funded organisations, including self-help, counselling, helplines and online supports. The HSE Your Mental Health Information Line on freephone 1800 111 888 is open anytime, day or night for information on mental health services.

Mental health difficulties are often described on a continuum of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. To reflect this continuum there are tiers of mental health service provision. This ’stepped care approach’ as outlined in our national mental health policy Sharing the Vision aims to enable an individual to avail of a range of supports and services as close to home as possible, at the level of complexity that corresponds best to their needs and circumstances, across a continuum of mental health services. This means accessing the mental health supports that they need, in the community in the first instance, at the level most appropriate to their needs. This could range from counselling and talk therapies through to support from their community mental health team, or access to more specialist services, up to and including inpatient and residential supports.

I established the National Office for Child and Youth Mental Health in the HSE to improve leadership and all aspects of care across youth mental health. The Office published its Youth Mental Health Action Plan in February 2025. This ambitious plan for comprehensive reform across all youth mental health services, including the specialist CAMHS service, will deliver services that are safer, more effective, easier to access and which offer appropriate support at all levels when needed.

The three-year Plan sets out a clear roadmap to ensure that children and families have equitable and timely access to high-quality mental health care, including better links with primary care and disability services, and greater use of e-mental health responses. My aim is that services will be better connected and easier to navigate, with increased focus on the rights of young people and their families.

Reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health difficulties is central to improved wellbeing at a societal level and to increase help-seeking. Inclusive youth mental health services is a key theme within the Action Plan which seeks to recognise the cultural and diverse needs of the whole population, including priority groups. This medium-term action will ensure vulnerable children and young people in priority groups with mental health difficulties will have equitable access to mental health services.

Similarly, the implementation of Sharing the Vision is grounded in a spirit of inclusivity and equity of access. More specifically, the policy recognises that certain groups in our population are more likely to experience mental health difficulties. Sharing the Vision requires mental health services to recognise and respond to diversity, while delivering supports that reflect cultural humility. The overall aim is that each person in Ireland who seeks to access mental health support is treated with respect.

In addition, Pathways to Wellbeing is Ireland’s National Mental Health Promotion Plan, providing a coordinated, whole-of-government framework to improving mental health and wellbeing across the population. A key strategic priority of the Plan is supporting positive mental health and wellbeing throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Recognising that experiences in the early years have a lasting impact on lifelong health and wellbeing, the Plan promotes a whole-system approach that supports children, young people and families across home, educational and community settings. It also prioritises targeted supports for children and families who experience disadvantage, adversity, or are at greater risk of poorer mental health outcomes.

The Plan also recognises that childhood and adolescence are critical periods for the development of social and emotional competencies and skills which are important for good mental health and wellbeing throughout life. Mental health difficulties are the leading cause of disability in adolescents aged 15–19 years. As well as having a negative impact during this key period of development, international research provides consistent evidence that mental health difficulties during adolescence are associated with an increased risk of adverse adult outcomes across mental health, education and employment.

Key actions relevant to children and young people that are currently being progressed through Pathways to Wellbeing include:

• Working in partnership with the Department of Education and Youth to strengthen both universal and targeted mental health and wellbeing supports across primary and post-primary schools.

• Enhancing community-based programmes that promote social and emotional development and mental health outcomes, particularly among vulnerable and marginalised young people.

• Developing sustainable and scalable creative arts and health programmes that support positive mental health and social connection.

• Strengthening mental health promotion and wellbeing supports for students in Further Education and Training (FET) and higher education settings.

I will continue to work closely with the HSE to ensure that all aspects of youth mental health care are improved over this year and beyond. I have also referred the Deputy's question to the HSE for direct reply in relation to the detailed operational information sought.