DATE: 11/10/2023
Please note embargo.
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“Pieta acknowledges the additional funding which has been secured by the Minister for Mental Health and Older People in this year’s budget, especially given that it has been a challenging budget for Health overall.
We also want to acknowledge the focus, in this budget, on mental health services for children and young people. The investment announced today by the Minister is particularly necessary given the crisis in mental health services for young people.
We welcome the Minister’s commitment to the continued roll-out of suicide bereavement liaison officers in 2024. Pieta is one of the largest providers of suicide bereavement support in this country and our suicide bereavement liaison team assisted over 1,000 families bereaved by suicide in the last two years.
We await further details of the Minister’s plans to support a more integrated mental health service. Pieta is ready to partner with the HSE on these services to ensure that those struggling with their mental health get timely access to the services they need, when they need them.
Stephanie Manahan, Pieta CEO, commenting on today’s Budget announcement said “I welcome today’s announcement by Minister Butler that she has secured additional investment in mental health services and, in particular, her support for families across this country which have been bereaved by suicide. The Minister’s commitment to the roll-out of suicide bereavement liaison officers in 2024 is a positive step forward given that our own suicide bereavement team has supported over 1,000 families in the last two years.
Overall, the Pieta clinical team has delivered over 38,000 hours of free, in-person therapy so far this year and demand for our services continues to increase. We rely on donations for over 85% of our revenue and, with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, it is an increasingly challenging environment for our fundraising efforts.
I look forward to working with the Minister, her department and the HSE in the coming weeks and months to build a sustainable service for our clients and communities across Ireland.”
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