Labour demands urgent action on adult mental health waits

• Almost 3,000 adults on waiting lists with almost one half facing delays of a year or more.
• Government must address the underfunding for mental health – just 5.8% of the total health budget for mental health, under the 10% Sláintecare Report recommendation.
• HSE must scale up access to social prescribing services with referral pathways to enhanced community mental health teams.

Labour Health Spokesperson Marie Sherlock TD today called on Government to take urgent action to tackle spiralling adult mental health waiting lists, after new figures show that almost 3,000 adults are currently waiting to see an HSE psychologist, with nearly half facing delays of more than a year.

Deputy Sherlock said the figures show a system under severe strain, where adults in need of timely mental health care are being left without support, and she urged the Minister for Health to take action and ensure people can access local, timely psychological services when they need them.

Deputy Marie Sherlock said:

“These figures lay bare a mental health system that is overburdened, understaffed and failing adults who are crying out for help. Almost 3,000 adults are stuck on HSE psychology waiting lists, and nearly half of them are being forced to wait more than a year. For someone experiencing anxiety, depression or another mental health difficulty, that kind of delay is simply unacceptable. Mental health care is essential healthcare. Delays like this cause real harm to people’s wellbeing, relationships and ability to work and live full lives.

“While there has rightly been focus on children and young people, thousands of adults are left in limbo, unable to access basic psychological support in their own communities. That neglect comes at a serious cost, both to individuals and to society. Timely and local care is crucial for people experiencing mental health issues. When support is delayed or unavailable, problems escalate and people end up presenting in crisis at emergency departments or relying on medication when talk therapy would have made a real difference.

“We must see action by the Minister for Health to reduce these waiting lists by enhancing adult community mental health teams, expanding access to social prescribing with referral pathways to community mental health, and outline a pathway to achieving 10% ringfenced funding for mental health from the health budget. The HSE recognise that this is an issue and have committed to developing a new model within the National Service Plan for 2026, particularly in the area of family support. We need to see the detail of that.

“The scale of unmet need is stark. Research from Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin and the National College of Ireland found that 42 per cent of adults in Ireland meet the diagnostic criteria for at least one mental health disorder at some point in their lives. That reality demands a properly resourced mental health system, yet the Government continues to underfund this area year after year.

“The Sláintecare Report, published in 2017, was clear in its ambition. It called for ringfenced funding of 10 per cent of the total health budget for mental health services. Almost eight years on, mental health still receives just 5.8 per cent of the health budget. That chronic underinvestment explains why waiting lists continue to grow and why staff are stretched to breaking point.

“This failure has particularly serious consequences for older people. For those over 65, access to mental health services plays a vital role in addressing social isolation and loneliness, which are major factors in poor mental health and wellbeing in later life. When older adults cannot access timely psychological support, loneliness deepens, mental health deteriorates and quality of life suffers. These services are absolutely essential, yet they remain out of reach for far too many people.

“The Government cannot continue to ignore these warning signs. Mental health services will remain overburdened and understaffed unless Ministers take responsibility and act. That means funding mental health at the level recommended by Sláintecare, recruiting and retaining psychologists and other mental health professionals, and ensuring adults can access care locally without waiting months or years. Labour is calling on the Minister for Health to urgently commit to ringfencing 10 per cent of the health budget for mental health and to deliver a properly staffed, accessible adult mental health service that treats people with the urgency and dignity they deserve. People need help now, not promises for another year down the line.”

ENDS

Link to the Parliamentary Question and Appendix