David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise. The reality is that if the beds are taken from Ballinasloe, it will be a loss to that area and community and I can understand its fears.

I have listened to this debate for the past hour and a half. Even a number of Government Senators have talked about the criteria process, which they believe has not been applied fairly. I know they are from the constituency and are perhaps under political pressure. These are not Opposition Senators but Government Senators. One said he would abstain and another was quite critical of the decision that was made. I must take cognisance of that as well. If this was in Waterford, I would be as upset as the people in the Public Gallery and the people of Ballinasloe generally. The motion contains a reasonable request for the carrying out of a full independent, transparent and fair review of the decision to close the acute inpatient bed unit at St. Brigid's and for a stay on the closure of the unit pending the outcome of that review. If that embarrasses anybody, so what? Somebody said earlier that they are embarrassed. There are many motions tabled and we can all say we can be embarrassed. There is no reason to be embarrassed. One would be embarrassed only if one believed one would be voting for something one should not be voting for. That is the only reason any Senator would be embarrassed so I do not think there is anything wrong with the wording of the motion. My party tabled an amendment to the motion, which seeks to remind Fianna Fáil of its failures in government in respect of A Vision for Change. I believe this had to be done as well because Fianna Fáil also had opportunities to deliver on this issue.

I will now move to the broader issues of A Vision for Change, which is important because we must have an holistic debate on mental health services in the context of the Minister of State coming to the House today. The issue of mental health is of great importance to Sinn Féin. This is reflected in our party's health manifesto entitled Healthcare in an Ireland of Equals, which was published in 2006. This rights-based policy has informed our approach to mental health. It has been reflected in successive election manifestos, including the one in the previous general election when we called for the development of mental health services on an all-Ireland basis progressing from increased co-operation to integration of services on the island; improved accountability and transparency in planning and financing mental health service reform; modernised mental health legislation in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; promotion of cross-departmental action to combat social exclusion, prejudice and discrimination against people with mental health problems; the ring-fencing of 12% of the annual Department of Health budget for mental health services in line with the World Health Organization recommendations; the development and promotion of suicide prevention strategies; the provision of required child and adolescent community-based mental health services; and the ending the placement of children in adult inpatient facilities.

In the current Dáil, my colleague Deputy Ó Caoláin is a co-convener of the Oireachtas cross-party group on mental health. The fact that there has been cross-party support on mental health issues and A Vision for Change has been to the benefit of the entire political system. I very much hope that continues despite some of the rancour we have seen in the Chamber today and the understandable frustrations and concerns felt by people in Ballinasloe, which have been rightly expressed by Members here today. The Oireachtas cross-party group on mental health has made very clear that at its core it has the conviction that now more than ever, in a time of recession, we need to prioritise mental health. In light of this, the Oireachtas cross-party group on mental health made the following recommendations in respect of budgets. The first is that in line with the programme for Government, we would see the implementation of A Vision for Change and that this should continue. The second is that funding for mental health must be held at the budget 2011 level and that the funding attached to any mental health post must be preserved and used for the recruitment of multidisciplinary community-based mental health staff. The third recommendation is the ring-fencing of €35 million annually from within the health budget to develop community mental health teams and services as outlined in A Vision for Change and that this occur to ensure early access to more appropriate services for adults and children and improved comprehensive community-based mental health services that are linked to primary care.

The recommendations agreed by the Oireachtas cross-party group on mental health are obvious, clear and deliverable but, unfortunately, not all of them have been delivered. We have highlighted the fact that mental health difficulties cost the economy around 2% of GDP annually and that most of these costs occur in the labour market as a result of lost employment, absenteeism, lost productivity and premature retirement. I do not have the time to finish the rest of the speech and I will send a copy to the Minister of State. There is a lot more than we can be doing in this area. It is also close to my heart because a number of people close to me have suffered mental health problems. I have watched them suffer but I have also seen that services are not always there when they should be there for them. We should do whatever we need to do and put in place whatever resources are necessary. On the last occasion the Minister of State was in the House in connection with this issue, I reminded her that both our parties share a common philosophy in respect of progressive taxation. If we need to raise taxes on those in this State who earn more to pay for people who need services, be they mental health or other services, we should do so and ensure people get the services rather than coming in and saying we do not have the money to do things we should be doing.