'Where is the money Minister?' Cllr asks of SOSAD funding

Efforts are continuing to secure the future of suicide prevention supports and counselling services in the county.

The HSE reportedly met with SOSAD last month, with the local suicide awareness and bereavement support charity now understood to be working on a formal application for funding.

It comes at a time when the self-funded local charity has been pushed to the pin of its collar in terms of resources, and when faced with an ever growing demand for the services it provides.

The statement from the Department for Health, updating the current situation, also follows comments made by a local councillor who called on Minister of State, Mary Butler, to follow through on funding commitments he claims were made to SOSAD Cavan late last year.

Independent Brendan Fay is particularly frustrated by a letter from the HSE to Cavan County Council stating that Cavan-Monaghan Mental Health Service has no record of receiving any such request for funding. The letter was sent in response to a query raised by Cllr Fay at local authority level.

‘Neither is there any record of receiving a request for funding through National Lottery funds via the Department for Health and Children nor directly to HSE CHO1,’ read the letter.

The HSE’s mechanism for funding organisations such as SOSAD is though Service Level or Grant Aid Agreements.

Funding to organisations such as SOSAD is arranged through the section 39 process and applications are made in November/ December and are assessed by the Cavan-Monaghan Mental Health Management Team. They are ‘budget dependent’.

The Cavan office of SOSAD provided almost double the number of sessions in 2024 as it did four years ago, its busiest year to date.

Last year, the service offered more than 23,000 counselling sessions to more than 1,900 individual clients from 28 counties and 150 different nationalities. The office in Drogheda facilitated more than 8,000 sessions; in Meath nearly 5,000; in Cavan nearly 3,000; in Laois nearly 3,000; in Dundalk more than 2,000; and in Monaghan more than 1,200.

Almost four per cent of its clients are under the age of 18 years. Almost a third are 25 and younger. A quarter fall between 26 and 35 years, with almost 57% under the age of 35. Approximately 65% of SOSAD’s clients are female and 34% are male.

Its helpline, meanwhile, offered approximately 250 hours of support last year.

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It was brought up at the October monthly meeting of Cavan councillors by Cllr Fay that small charities such as SOSAD are struggling with no Government funding.

There was a worry that, without the necessary funds, the volunteer-led suicide prevention and awareness charity might not last until Christmas.

Speaking at the February monthly meeting, which convened at The Lavey Inn, Cllr Fay informed his fellow colleagues that, since raising the matter almost five months ago, representatives from SOSAD Cavan had met with Minister Butler and secured a commitment from her.

“We were promised money before Christmas,” said Cllr Fay. “Still nothing.”

Reacting to the correspondence from the HSE, Cllr Fay, who also sits on the board of SOSAD Cavan, dismissed it as a “generic” response and asked that the council write again to Minister Butler’s office to reaffirmation her commitment to seeing the local charity financially supported.

‘Guidance’ being given to SOSAD on funding application - Department

However, in a statement issued to the Celt following the meeting, a spokesperson for the department confirmed that Minister Butler “recognises the important contribution” SOSAD makes in terms of offering counselling services in north-east Leinster.

It is accepted that SOSAD’s financial situation was brought to the Minister’s attention last Autumn, and she arranged to meet them along with her officials from the Department of Health in November 2024.

Following that meeting the Minister requested that HSE Louth/Meath “make contact” with SOSAD to outline the steps required for any potential funding application.

“HSE Louth/Meath have been in direct contact with SOSAD for approximately two months now and Minister Butler receives regular updates on their engagements,” said the statement. “As per any negotiations between HSE and any charity or organisation, information such as audited accounts, annual reports, clinical and corporate governance arrangements, and board of management details are required, so that HSE can undertake due diligence as part of consideration of any potential funding arrangements.”

The spokesperson concluded by informing that the HSE since met with SOSAD in January to “provide guidance” on the specific information required, and furthermore that Minister Butler “understands that SOSAD are now working to provide all of this relevant information to the HSE”.