THERE IS STILL no plan in place to provide funding for eating disorder treatment beds for adults, seven years after the launch of a government plan to improve services.

Ireland currently has just three public beds in the entire country which offer specialist treatment for adults with eating disorders.

A report estimated that Ireland needs 23 more adult in-patient beds for people with eating disorders. 

However, there has been a consistent improvement in the number of community treatment centres, with work underway at 14 of 16 so-called ‘hubs’.

The HSE has confirmed there has been steady increase in the number of treatment hubs, with funding for two more of the facilities provided in Budget 2025.

It also revealed, however, that there has still been no funding provided for new in-patient beds for adults. 

More than 20 new beds were due to be opened between 2018 and 2023. 

“The model of care has estimated the need for an additional 23 adult inpatient beds for adults with eating disorders,” the HSE said in response to a recent parliamentary question from Holly Cairns, the Social Democrats leader.

“This is a significant capital programme that will need phased funding yearly for the coming years.”

The response gave no further information on when funding for the new beds might be provided.

Asked by The Journal when funding will be allocated for the adult beds, the HSE said: “Adults who have an eating disorder diagnosis and require in-patient care can be referred to any of the HSE’s acute inpatient mental health approved centres around the country.”

“One adult Eating Disorder Team also provides care to its catchment area with three specialist eating disorder beds in St Vincent’s University Hospital (in Dublin 4). A review of bed capacity across all mental health facilities – including adult eating disorder beds – has taken place and is under consideration by the HSE.”

The HSE did not say when the results of the review would be published or when a decision would be made.

People impacted by eating disorders who live outside of the catchment area for the three beds in St Vincent’s are normally referred to a general psychiatric unit, where they often do not receive specialised care.

However, Mary Butler, the minister of state for mental health, has previously indicated that she did not see the need for significantly increasing the number of adult eating disorder in-patient beds.

“I don’t think we need more because 90% of all supports [are] being provided for people with an eating disorder are in the community,” she told RTÉ’s Prime Time last year.

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She also said that severe cases can be dealt with under the Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS), which involves paying for seriously ill patients to receive treatment overseas.

However, this approach has been criticised by the likes of Cairns, who pointed out that spending on eating disorder treatment under the TAS has risen from €312,000 in 2018 to €4.5 million in 2023, as more people seek treatment.

Psychiatrists have also said that relying on the TAS often means patients can be severely unwell by the time they finally do receive treatment.

There has been a rise in the number of people seeking treatment for eating disorders in recent years.

For the first time, eating disorders were the main reason for children being admitted to psychiatric hospitals and units in 2023.

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland recently said the improved outpatient services, with work underway or complete on opening 14 of 16 planned treatment hubs, has had a positive impact.

However, the organisation said that improving inpatient care has been neglected, highlighting the lack of beds available for adult patients