Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health. I thank the Deputy for his support for this Government initiative. The development of a CAST, a multiagency initiative proposed for Limerick city, was a recommendation of the final report of the high-level task force, HLTF, on mental health and addiction challenges of those who come into contact with the criminal justice sector.

As the Deputy will be aware, this report was published on 30 September 2022. It was always envisaged that significant planning would be required to progress this recommendation. The purpose of the CAST project, as he outlined, is to create a specialist uniform unit in which gardaí will work together with mental health professionals to provide a rapid and integrated 24-7 response to persons with mental health difficulties or those experiencing situational trauma. This will be a one-of-its-kind, first-of-its-kind team of its kind to be created in Ireland comprising two modes of delivery, namely, a crisis response service and a community support forum.

A specialist uniform unit will respond to relevant 999 calls that have been triaged. The on-scene crisis response will involve trained members of An Garda Síochána working with their existing operational unit and supported by an assigned clinical nurse specialist and other members of the team. As the Deputy will be aware, the community access support team will be based in Limerick’s Henry Street Garda station during working hours and will follow up with individuals based on needs identified during coresponse. When not responding to calls, these staff will be completing work associated with the project, such as linking in with external agencies, outreach to homeless and addiction services, following up on previous call outs and providing ongoing intervention based on need.

At the heart of the CAST project is the establishment of a multiagency community support forum in Limerick. This case management forum comprises identified statutory agencies and approved support services. The aim is to reduce future presentations and interactions with gardaí or other blue light emergency services through community follow-ups and the case management of complex cases. An independent person from the local authority will chair the forum, which will meet on a monthly basis. The aim of the forum is to provide an integrated approach to working with people during a crisis. A study of the project with academic partners in the University of Limerick will inform further roll-out of similar teams in Ireland.

Mr. Bernard Gloster, CEO of the HSE, recently confirmed that the new mid-west regional executive officer has been given appropriate directions for the CAST project to proceed without delay. The staffing requirement for the pilot from a HSE perspective is one clinical nurse specialist, one social worker and one social care worker. These posts have recently been approved. The gardaí will support the pilot with two gardaí, both of which are vulnerability navigators, and one clerical officer member of garda staff. In addition to significant progress at a local level, a meeting was held in Limerick yesterday, 8 July, between representatives of local HSE and An Garda Síochána to progress and commence the pilot project. Representatives of the interdepartmental steering group to monitor the implementation of the high-level task force recommendations also attended this meeting. It is hoped to commence the pilot project in the fourth quarter of 2024.

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