Ministers Mary Butler, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Martin Heydon and Michael Healy-Rae launch new free counselling supports for men at National Ploughing Championships
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 16 September 2025
- Last updated on: 17 September 2025
- new free services launched today at the Ploughing Championships
- over 15,000 free counselling sessions to be provided to men annually
- new pathways developed to simplify access to support to respond to the specific needs and preferences of men
- supports to be made available through GPs and through a national campaign targeting men, with all information on yourmentalhealth.ie/men
The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, the Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, and Minister of State for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae, launched new, free counselling supports for men at an event at the Ploughing Championships today.
The Ministers announced a suite of new talk therapies and counselling supports specifically tailored for men, with services now available.
The funding is targeted at assisting with stigma reduction and to actively encourage men who otherwise would not usually avail of counselling to seek help with their mental health, to assist men in accessing mental health services, and to provide much-needed support for men experiencing a mental health crisis.
The initiative is supported by €2 million in recurring funding secured by Minister Butler from Budget 2025, as part of an integrated series of initiatives led by the Minister to ensure people with mental health difficulties are able to access the appropriate range of supports, from mental health promotion and prevention, through to specialist services and clinical programmes.
The funding will provide over 15,000 free counselling sessions to men and establishes accessible supports over the phone and in-person.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
"Mental health affects us all. We know that men don't always come forward to seek help or talk to others about their mental health challenges. We encourage open conversations about mental health, and this initiative - launched at the Ploughing Championships, where conversation thrives - will help men to speak about their own mental wellbeing.
"I commend Minister Butler, and all involved for their leadership. This is about making support more visible, more accessible and more tailored to men's needs."
Minister Butler said:
"These new supports will make it easier for men to access help when they need it, and to meet them where they are at – in a field, in an office, or at their kitchen table.
“We know that women are more likely access to counselling services than men, with women making up two thirds of all clients availing of our national counselling service. However, around 80% of all people who die by suicide are men.
“For men who may be struggling with difficult thoughts and feelings, counselling and talk therapies can support them to feel heard, help them achieve a better understanding of what they are going through, and equip them with the skills to deal with difficult emotions and thoughts."
Minister Heydon said:
"The health, safety and wellbeing of farmers is critical for the social sustainability of Irish agriculture. There is a specific focus in the Programme for Government on farmer mental health and well-being, recognising the unique challenges faced by the sector.
"I welcome this Department of Health initiative to provide free and accessible counselling supports for men which will complement my department’s efforts to support farmer mental health and wellbeing and further demonstrates the whole of government approach to tackling this important issue."
While men are at particular risk of experiencing poor mental health, they are generally recognised as a group with specific needs and preferences, and these factors must be taken into account when designing supports tailored for this audience. This initiative will support men by:
- investing in new counselling and mental health supports, providing easier access to supports and greater choice for how men access them and when
- actively promoting the full range of mental health supports which can be accessed by men
- actively evaluating the impact of increased promotion of help-seeking supports for men
Speaking at the launch at the National Ploughing Championships today, Minister Healy-Rae said:
"I welcome the Department of Health’s announcement to provide free supports for men experiencing poor mental health. The majority of farmers are men and studies show that they have a relatively poor record when it comes to seeking support on their mental health.
"This initiative will help those in need of these important counselling services and will strengthen the range of initiatives being funded by my department on farmer mental health and wellbeing such as On Feirm Ground and other projects funded under the recent open call."
Funding is also being provided to specifically enhance mental health supports for young Traveller men through a partnership with Exchange House, as well as to support general population mental health promotion initiatives including the Minding Your Wellbeing for Men programme.
This initiative is embedded within Ireland’s approach to mental health policy implementation. Sharing the Vision – A Mental Health Policy for Everyone, and Connecting for Life, Ireland’s national strategy for suicide prevention, clearly state that talk therapies should be considered a first-line treatment option for most people who experience mental health difficulties.
The new services are being promoted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine staff at the Ploughing Championships this week, and the supports are now live through your local GP and online through yourmentalhealth.ie/men.
Notes
The new services are being promoted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine staff at the Ploughing Championships this week, and the supports are now live through your local GP and online through yourmentalhealth.ie/men.
Most mental health needs can successfully be addressed at the primary care level, and talk therapies offer an evidence-based alternative to medication for people presenting with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.
The following activities are being funded under the initiative:
- in collaboration with Connect Counselling, their freephone anonymous telephone support service 1800 477 477 will be extended to a seven-day service
- a direct referral pathway will be designed from Connect Counselling to Counselling in Primary Care for men, regardless of whether they hold a medical card or not. Over 1,250 additional 8-session counselling referrals will be funded under this initiative
- MyMind, another HSE partner organisation, which facilitates face-to-face and online counselling by qualified mental health professionals, will be funded to provide 5,000 free sessions which will be promoted to men through targeted advertising and through key stakeholders (for example, GPs) in many different languages
- Minding your Wellbeing for Men is a six-week mental health promotion programme which aims to promote men’s mental health and wellbeing through self-care, self-awareness and social connectedness. The programme consists of six sessions delivered by a trained facilitator and addresses key topics
- funding is being provided to the Organisation for Ex-Service Personnel to support their counselling and telephone supports for former members of the Defence Forces
- Exchange House will be funded to expand their youth mental health service for young Traveller men in Dublin and the mid-West
These supports will be promoted to men through a targeted national media campaign. This will utilise the full range of communications channels available (targeting men, including middle-aged men), including social media and paid search as well a coordinated approach to stakeholder engagement with a range of voluntary and community partner organisations.
By way of encouraging uptake of services, the HSE is working closely with the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) to ensure GPs are fully aware of referral criteria and care pathways.
An evaluation will be undertaken of this initiative to assess the effectiveness of these initiatives to target men, both from a quantitative and qualitative perspective.