Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Caoláin as ucht an rún seo a chur os comhair na Dála. Is maith an rud é go bhfuil sé glactha ag an Rialtas go bhfuil gá ann labhairt amach ón Teach seo le haon ghuth amháin. Táimid i gcruachás. Tá fadhb mhór sa tír seo. Ní fadhb pholaitiúil í, ach ba cheart dúinn na maoin a chur ar fáil agus gach rud eile gur féidir linn a dhéanamh chun déileáil ní hamháin le ceist an fhéinmharaithe, ach freisin le ceist na meabhairshláinte ina iomlán.

Over the past two evenings, much has been said about mental health and the state of the services in this State to help those suffering from a variety of mental health ailments. There has been an acceptance by the Government that more needs to be done to deliver the responsive, community-based services and supports, as envisaged in the mental health strategy, A Vision for Change. By accepting the Sinn Féin motion, the Government and all Members of this House are committing to an urgent response to a crisis facing our society and our health service.

Without the response outlined in the strategy and in this motion, we as a society will see far too many of our friends, neighbours, colleagues and relatives die as a result of suicide. We must remember that suicide is not the end result of mental illness for the vast majority of those suffering from mental illness but it is the tragic end for far too many people, especially young people. Like Deputy Crowe, I have been to far too many funerals of friends, loved ones and neighbours over the past couple of years, in particular. It is heartbreaking for me as a friend, but how much heartbreak do close colleagues and close family members suffer? It is becoming far too common, especially in this era of economic distress.

Some of this is as a consequence of cutbacks in our health service. The shortage of social workers affects families. I have dealt with families who are frustrated trying to get social workers to listen to them and to return their calls. It is not the fault of the social workers because they have a workloads over and above what they are supposed to have, sometimes covering the caseloads of two or three social workers. I know how CAMHS is affected by a lack of resources and a lack of professionals on which it can call, especially for young teenagers. It does not have the level of resources and the number of professionals required.

Like Deputy Ellis, I know of tragic cases where people have presented in accident and emergency departments. I have come across cases of late where people have sat in the queue but have died very quickly thereafter in the hospital. That is part of the scandal. We need another way. It is not an appropriate response that people must present in accident and emergency departments to get emergency help. There must be another way in these chaotic times for those families and friends who end up bringing people to look for the services and who sometimes must go from pillar to post.

Without the help of Pieta House, Teenline, turn2me and Console, we would be in a much worse situation. A great debt of gratitude from society is due to those organisations and they deserve every support this Government and any future Government can give them.

I refer to a group of people who are often forgotten in this, namely, the carers of those suffering from mental illness, because they face major challenges. One of the challenges to which I refer is the fact that they are often left out of the clinical and medical decisions and we need to look at some way in which health professionals can share information with those who will care for people so they are not a danger to themselves, their carers and their families. That little bit of work should be done. As the Carers Association said, a change to the Mental Health Act might be needed to require health professionals to involve the carers, or future carers where somebody is not identified straight away, to ensure patients get full treatment when released into the care of the home.

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