Ireland's overstretched and underfunded mental health services will come under even more pressure in the coming years unless something is done about it, experts are warning.
New figures show that for every four patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 2005, only one would be admitted today due to a lack of resources.
There were 4,000 acute mental health beds in 2005, but it has dropped to just 1,000 today - amounting to 22 adult acute mental health beds per 100,000 population, compared to the EU mean of 70 per 100,000,
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association says this will mean longer recovery times for patients with mental illness.
Meanwhile, 30% of permanent consultant psychiatrist posts are vacant here.
Dr Anne Doherty, a Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at the Mater & Associate Professor at UCD, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast.
She said: “The level of funding is probably the biggest problem that we have - in Ireland, only 5% of the health budget goes towards mental health. In the UK, New Zealand, the Netherlands... it’s around 12-13%.
“I think we know most people in society prioritise mental health care, and are very tuned in to this… unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to translate into Government policy.
“The services we have are quite significantly stretched - and that was before COVID.
"COVID has brought its own challenges, and that’s going to create more pressures into the future unless something is done about it."
Dr Doherty said it's clear Irish people do prioritise mental health care, pointing to the public's support for Pieta House's Darkness Into Light initiative over the weekend.
She said improving the situation here is about increasing State funding, but also “filling the gaps” that currently exist in the system.
That would include improving working conditions to ensure the Irish system is more appealing to Irish doctors, nurses and psychologists currently working abroad.
