The Tipperary Sinn Féin TD raised the matter in the Dáil after the organisation warned they only
have enough funding to see them through the first couple of months of 2022.
Teachta Browne said:
“CARMHA provides free counselling and peer support services for addiction and mental health
issues. They provide an invaluable service for the people that need them, because the vital
counselling resources they provide to people with these needs are in very short supply elsewhere.
“This has resulted in state agencies including the HSE referring people to them, which shows the
important role they are playing.
“However, despite this, the HSE, which provides some funding to voluntary groups under Section 38
and 39 of the Health Act, has refused them funding in the past.
“Now the Nenagh service, which has relied on the support of the public and of donors, is facing
possible closure in the New Year unless adequate funding is allocated to the service.
“I raised these points with Minister Mary Butler during the week and appealed to her to lift up the
phone and speak to the volunteers who run it and listen to their case, because engagements with
the HSE in the past have proved fruitless.
“And while the Minister was reluctant to do so and persisted in talking about funding through the
HSE which has been unsuccessful in the past, it is my hope that the plight of CARMHA is now on the
HSE’s radar, and I will continue to do all I can to get them through the difficult times they are
experiencing.
“I also raised the issue of one-off funding for community mental health groups that was announced
earlier this year but has remained unspent and unallocated. Further details on this are due to be
issued shortly.
“I told the Minister that what is needed for organisations such as CARMHA is longer-term funding so
that they can make plans to further assist people into the future – something that is difficult to do
when funding is distributed in an irregular and piecemeal manner.”
