Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of everyone in the House, I wish to say that we appreciate how the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has allowed us the time to have our say.

The Bill seeks to implement immediate improvement in legislative protections for adults and children accessing acute mental health services. The Bill is important in putting the person first. As Deputy Buckley has said, this has to transcend politics and we need cross-party support.

We cannot play politics with this as there is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected by it. I listened with interest to what Deputy Neville said. We are fighting the battle against the stigma associated with mental illness. The new generation is much more open to talking about mental illness. I see that with my own children in college. I have two children going through the college system. My daughter was in Mary Immaculate College last year. Unfortunately, one of her group of friends took his own life. That had an impact on the group of friends and the entire class. There was some help but it was not enough. The suicide had a big effect on them. Most of the students felt guilt that they did not see the signs or read the signals that this young chap was going to hell and back. He was out socialising with them and attending college. His death had an effect on the rest of his classmates. They did not see the signs. They felt guilty and felt that they should have been able to help more and they did not. That is something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. I met the Union of Students in Ireland. There is some help in third level institutions but it is not enough. That is one area we need to target.

Another area I wish to pinpoint today is something I have come across a lot and which has been alluded to by other speakers, namely, staffing levels. It is one of the most important issues. There is not a moratorium per seon replacing staff going on maternity leave, but the Department must work within its existing budget. Nine times out of ten it is not in a position, financially, to replace the person who has gone on maternity leave, and that is causing a huge issue. In Waterford we have 2.6 psychologists, which is not enough to deal with the children. Currently, one member of staff is on maternity leave. The HSE did find the budget to replace the person, but because it was only a temporary position, it was very difficult to fill the place. That is a significant issue when one has 2.6 posts for child psychology, one of those is on maternity leave for six to nine months, and the person cannot be replaced because it is only a temporary position. No one is going to uproot from another side of the country to come to work someplace else for nine months.

People have also come to me about the lack of continuity in treating children with mental health issues. They need continuity of care. If the person treating them leaves due to maternity leave, to which they are entitled, and we have all done it, or if the system changes, children find it very hard to adapt. An adult will adapt more quickly. That is another issue we must address.

Deputy Rabbitte spoke about children trying to access a mental health bed. Currently, we have 58 mental health beds for children in this country. That is not enough. It is a scandal that a child with mental health issues would have to go into an adult ward or facility. Imagine putting a child of seven or eight into an adult ward. In many cases adult wards have a mix of men and women.

We must compliment the likes of Jigsaw and Sugru that do fantastic work throughout the country. The spirit of volunteerism within those organisations is fantastic. I echo what Deputy Cahill said, that we need a Jigsaw and Sugru in every county in Ireland. They cannot be based in just one or two areas.

Many facilities are city-based, but many people live in isolation in rural areas. Mental health comes to the fore there, but the services are not as easy to access. There are many good people working in the system and they are very fair, but the problem is there are not enough of them.

My final point is one on which I speak from experience. When a member of one's family is admitted to a psychiatric ward and they come out well after being looked after, that is good but the follow-up care is very poor. There is a lack of aftercare. If someone leaves hospital after a stay of between six and eight weeks, family members can see the signs of it happening again, ahead of a medical person because when one lives in close proximity to someone who suffers from mental health issues, one does recognise the signs. The follow-up when someone leaves hospital is inadequate because there are not enough staff in place. I compliment those working in the system because there are some very good workers.

See this speech in context