Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the presentation. I am sure she remembers the Private Members' motion that the Technical Group moved in its first six months in the Dáil, which was not put to a vote. A marker was put down as to what we would like to see happen and we left it at that, although we indicated the issue would be revisited. I have an interest in this area from a personal perspective as I suffer from mental illness and I contemplated suicide at one stage. I have made it quite clear in speaking about this that one of my biggest fears was approaching the mental health services.

It is interesting that the Minister of State noted that "when people reach out, there should be help", and nobody can disagree with that. She continued that "the environment should be enabling and not disabling" and, again, nobody can disagree with that. She also stated that "all we can do is ensure people will know what to do or exactly where to go". I wish I did not have to say what I must say but people do not have that assurance in my county. People may say it is parish pump politics to speak about one's own county but it is not; it is the area I know best and it is the issue people are coming to me about. Far from feeling reassured, for the past three weeks in all the local newspapers, there have been true articles that do anything but reassure people. I will give the Minister of State a taste of what people are saying.

I am sure she has read the Roscommon Herald this week and she knows what is going on in Roscommon psychiatric unit. The paper carried the story of a person who had a family member there when the incidents took place, and I hope the Minister of State is aware of what those are. Can the Minister of State imagine what this is like for the staff, patients and families? We tried to bring this up in the Dáil but it was repeatedly refused a spot as a Topical Issue, including today. The staff are doing terrific work and we do not want them criticised but they are working in appalling and understaffed conditions. This must stop right now. The authorities were told there would be problems and there will be more of them. I am pleading with the Minister of State to get this appalling issue addressed immediately.

It may be the same across the country but in Roscommon people do not feel safe about the prospect of approaching the mental health services.

We have a situation where the local services are losing staff because they need them in the psychiatric unit and people do not have the service locally. We know the knock-on effect. They end up a little worse and in many cases have to go into that hospital, which they do not feel safe going into. I hate having to say this but they are right in not feeling safe about going there. Something needs to be done. The fears I had all those years ago have not been allayed. I wish they had, but it is clear that psychiatric services are still the poor relation in our health services. Nobody has contacted me to tell me that their brother, son or sister had been left on the side of a road and left for a year with a broken leg with nobody taking any care of them as their health deteriorated and they died. Yet that kind of situation is happening to people.

We talk about why people end up with mental health problems. We have a situation in the psychiatric unit of Roscommon County Hospital where the workers are starting to develop mental health problems because they are under such huge stress. There is a public meeting in Roscommon town tomorrow night to discuss all this. We do not really know where to turn. This is not picked up as a topical issue. It is not about me or Deputy Naughten, who also put in a request. It is about us trying to do something about this. It is an end-of-pipe solution. I would love to talk about the reasons people end up there but I do not have the time. When people end up at the end of this pipe it seems they are just being sent into the sewer. What is happening about this?

I come from a family some of whose members have had to undergo forced shock therapy in a variety of different scenarios and I am not seeing that this kind of situation is improving; it has not improved. I fear for anybody who has to use the mental health services in my county and I want to know that the Minister of State is going to do something about it. The last thing I want to hear is somebody suggesting this is some sort of political football. It is not. It affects me, my family and my neighbours. Up until now, I would have said the Minister of State talks an amazing talk. I do not know who is stopping her doing the walk I believe she wants to do. It is not happening and I would like something done about it.