3<\/p>\n The HSE spent almost \u20ac93 million last year on providing patients with private mental health careCredit: Getty 3<\/p>\n Marie Sherlock is calling on the HSE to urgently act to reduce our dependence on private providersCredit: \ufffd 2023 PA Media, All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n Every week, we hear stories from desperate families, parents navigating endless waiting lists, young people in crisis and overstretched staff trying to do more with less.<\/p>\n New stats provided to Labour\u2019s health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock show the true scale of the issue.<\/p>\n Figures reveal the State is spending almost \u20ac93 million every year on outsourcing mental health care \u2013 particularly to the UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n Writing in The Irish Sun today, the Dublin<\/a> Central TD says Ireland must urgently invest in public health care.<\/p>\n FOR many in the \u00adGovernment<\/a>, the mantra is that the private sector can fix everything.<\/p>\n But for some of our most vulnerable and unwell people in Irish society, it is simply not acceptable that we rely to such a large extent on the private sector to deliver mental health<\/a> care.<\/p>\n Figures released to me show that the HSE<\/a> spent almost \u20ac93 million last year on providing patients with private mental health care.<\/p>\n This figure has almost \u00adDOUBLED in just eight years from \u20ac46 million in 2018.<\/p>\n The alarming figures are a clear indictment of our public mental health services.<\/p>\n The State is increasingly relying on private providers to deliver care that should be provided directly through the public system.<\/p>\n Irish teen, 14, who loves wheelchair basketball is struggling to push chair as condition getting worse while waiting years for spinal surgery<\/p>\n Already, \u20ac7.5 million has been spent this year. This level of outsourcing is simply unsustainable and reflects deep structural failings in the public system.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more shocking is the scale of reliance on mental health services in the UK.<\/p>\n We spent nothing on care in the UK in 2018 and 2019.<\/p>\n That figure has now exploded to almost \u20ac13 million in 2024 \u2014 double what was spent in 2023.<\/p>\n We now have a situation where Irish patients are being sent across the Irish Sea, far from their homes, and support networks, because we cannot provide appropriate care here.<\/p>\n INABILITY TO MEET PATIENT NEEDS<\/p>\n That is completely unacceptable.<\/p>\n The HSE has confirmed this outsourcing is driven by an inability to meet patient needs within our own services.<\/p>\n They are struggling to provide secure settings for children, care for people with multi-axial disorders, and specialist services for severe eating disorders.<\/p>\n This is a failure of planning, investment and, ultimately, leadership.<\/p>\n We all understand the need for the need for an emergency fix when someone is in real crisis.<\/p>\n SERIOUS MISTAKE<\/p>\n But it is a serious mistake to build up a long-term reliance on the private sector and on sending people abroad.<\/p>\n![\"Therapist](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/portrait-asian-therapists-writing-notes-987938920.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Senator](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NINTCHDBPICT000829486556.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Doctor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/NINTCHDBPICT000987945044.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n