Minister for Mental Health, Mary Butler TD has welcomed the publication of the University of Limerick’s independent evaluation of the Community Access Support Team (CAST) pilot project.

Minister Butler initiated the CAST pilot in January 2025 following the recommendations of the High-Level Taskforce on Mental Health and Addiction, which examined the challenges faced by people with mental health and addiction difficulties who come into contact with the criminal justice system and called for more health-led responses.

CAST is a joint initiative between An Garda Síochána and HSE Mid-West Mental Health Services within the Limerick Garda Division. It provides a coordinated, multi-agency response for people experiencing a mental health crisis, vulnerability, or situational trauma.

The service combines crisis co-response, follow-up engagement, and multi-agency case management to improve outcomes, reduce repeat emergency service contacts, and strengthen continuity of care.

Supported by the Departments of Health and Justice, the multidisciplinary CAST team includes mental health, social work and social care professionals, Garda co-responders, operational staff, and administrative support.

“I launched this pilot partnership between HSE Mental Health Services and An Garda Síochána to improve how we respond to people experiencing a crisis or traumatic event. Our shared aim was to provide a more compassionate, effective and joined-up response for people in distress.

“The pilot focused on early intervention, prevention and outreach to achieve better outcomes for a small but particularly vulnerable group of people. From the beginning, it was important to me that people could access the right support, in the right place, at the right time, with all the services they needed working together around them.

“I want to pay tribute to Superintendent Andrew Lacey, his team of Gardai, and the dedicated HSE mental health nurse team for their commitment to this new way of supporting people in the community.

“I am pleased to welcome this independent evaluation, which shows that CAST is a strong example of different agencies working together to better support people with mental health difficulties, including those who are also dealing with addiction.

“CAST is making a real and positive difference in people’s lives. We will now consider the independent evaluation report and use it to inform the next phase of implementation of this important initiative.”

The independent evaluation of CAST provides evidence to support decisions about the next steps for the service. The evaluation examined how the CAST pilot was implemented and operated, and what outcomes it achieved. It drew on the experiences of those delivering and using the service, as well as operational and outcome data, to assess the effectiveness of CAST as a coordinated, multi-agency crisis response model. The recommendations reflect the evaluator's independent analysis of the evidence gathered during the study.

Minister of State for Older People and Housing and Limerick T.D., Kieran O’Donnell said:

“I welcome this comprehensive independent evaluation from the University of Limerick. I know that the Community Access Support Team (CAST) has made a big difference to vulnerable people in Limerick. I have always been supportive of this project and welcome the overview and evidence provided in this independent evaluation.

“CAST is the first of its kind in Ireland and reflects the shared goal of providing a compassionate and effective response to people in distress.

“The development of CAST reflects wider international trends in policing and mental health response which demonstrate improved outcomes for those in a mental health crisis or situational trauma”.

The Department of Health and the Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Health Service Executive and An Garda Síochána will consider the evaluation report in detail to help inform the next phase of implementation of the Community Access Support Team (CAST).