A new specialist group focused on Traveller mental health is to be established under the national mental health policy, despite earlier concerns about possible overlap with existing committees.
The initiative was announced last month by Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler as part of Sharing the Vision – A Mental Health Policy for Everyone (2020–2030). The national implementation and monitoring committee (NIMC), which oversees the policy, is expected to formally establish the group in the autumn.
However, minutes from an NIMC steering committee meeting in May show that some members questioned the need for a new structure.
The discussion noted that the HSE-chaired national Traveller and Roma mental health working group is already progressing several policy commitments in relation to Travellers.
Establishing another group with a similar remit, according to the minutes, carried “a risk of duplication”.
As a result, the committee concluded at the time that the proposal “did not meet the criteria for establishing a specialist group”.
Asked about these concerns, a spokesperson for the Department of Health told the Medical Independent that the Traveller mental health group is proceeding under the NIMC structures and will operate with “defined terms of reference”.
“This will complement the work of the HSE national Traveller and Roma mental health working group, which is focused principally on delivering and monitoring actions across a range of Department of Health and HSE policies and strategies.”
It is envisaged that the specialist group will focus principally on mental health policy enhancement and alignment through “adopting a whole-of-government lens”.
“The specialist group and the HSE working group will collaborate and cooperate as appropriate, to ensure alignment and avoid duplication of effort.”
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