Shared Island: Projects, Progress & Policy, A Shared Island Perspective on Mental Health

Abstract

As part of the Shared Island research project this report from the NESC Secretariat looks at current and possible future co-operation around mental health on the island of Ireland, North and South.

The issue of mental health has become increasingly visible in the public arena over the last two years. The COVID crisis has brought with it a range of different issues that have had the potential to negatively impact on mental health. As many of the concerns and policies around mental health are shared by the two jurisdictions, it is a good time to look at how increased dialogue and co-operation on some aspects of mental health could bring benefits to the wider island population.

There are a number of examples of successful and current co-operation in the mental health sector. Some of it is led by the community and voluntary sector, often supported by European funding. In the border counties, there is also evidence of substantial informal interaction between services in the two jurisdictions.

This report finds that there is an appetite for more formal settings for co-operation and that there could be substantial value in building on current initiatives as well as looking at new areas of co-operation.