Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I apologise but I am under time pressure so would be grateful if someone could give me a nod when Senator Devine starts speaking in the Seanad Chamber, at which point I will have to run. I hope I do not leave too much out and I will catch up on the remainder of these proceedings later on.

This is an area in which I have a keen interest partly because of my own experience of school. As a 13 year old I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder but this was not recognised at school. I would like to read the PhD on kids who are either neglected until they leave or are expelled because that is the case for many children who pose difficulties within the classroom. I understand that teachers are under great pressure but as a working mother, I am very conscious that schools often have more access to children than parents. That places an enormous responsibility on teachers who are the primary care givers for children for a huge portion of the day. The witnesses spoke about the capacity of teachers and this is an issue of huge concern. How do we build on the capacity of teachers in order to give them the confidence to intervene when it is necessary to do so?

I made a submission to the Minister for Education and Skills in response to his action plan in the context of teacher training. It was not focused specifically on mental health but on taking a holistic approach to education and examining the inclusive education module in the teacher training programme. My submission mimicked Dr. Austin O'Carroll's model for doctors who work in areas of deprivation and applied that model to teachers who work in such areas, encouraging them to take a much more holistic approach to education.

Many of those teachers could act as mental health service providers. Being much more understanding of the context in which they are working, they can act as a signpost and see when an issue arises.

A comment was made on encouraging children to work or get involved in their own community. The difficulty I have in envisaging this coming to light is that the schools are very much dissociated from the community and have not become the centre of it in the way they should. How do we build the relationships so that when a mental health issue arises for a child, the teacher can say he or she has a direct contact in Jigsaw or any given service? That flat-level communication and conversation is not happening. We can provide something in the school but if the school is not in conversation with the community and the services, we are fighting a losing battle.

I liked Mr. Hussey's presentation. My daughter, who is an actor, was the lead in the film "I Used To Live Here", which was based on Dr. Tony Bates's article on cluster suicides. My daughter spoke publicly at the time about how her playing that role alleviated her suicidal ideation. Is there room for theatre providers to examine the role of role play within the school in regard to mental health? I know my daughter's playing of the role of a suicidal child allowed her to go through the process and come out the other side with a different view. What role could theatre play in regard to roleplay?

I held an event in Tallaght recently called Tallaght Talks. It was a raw event after a cluster of suicides in the Tallaght area. We had all the service providers there and we had the young men and women whom one usually cannot get into a room. I developed a White Paper based on the event, which I shall publish in the next few weeks. I will send it on to those present. One of the main themes from the day was not the individuals experiencing mental health issues but the first responders. With what do we need to equip schools, teachers and parents to be first responders? This comes back to the fear of being the first responder. What does it mean in terms of introducing material on the curriculum but not equipping teachers to be first responders.