Mr. Hugh Kane:

I acknowledge what Senator Devine said about suicide. It is a huge problem and is the reality of what we are trying to deal with. Suicide very often involves a wider issue than just the mental health services end. We need to keep sight of that. There are lots of things that impact on people's mental health, as the members all know, such as having a good job, a nice place to live, etc. It is a much wider thing.

In terms of the whole medication piece, they are very much practice-based issues and may not be appropriate to a review at our level. We will take the issue back and have a think about it. I think, though, that there is a place for medication, properly supervised and administered, while there is also a need for a whole range of other kinds of supports as well. They have to work together. That is very clear.

Deputy Barry spoke about the challenge of what is going on at the moment. There is a huge machine out there as we speak, a range of services being delivered and supporting people. That is going to continue. If there are problems with the delivery of that, they should be addressed as we go along as well. Their work will not stop because we are talking about what is going on at that level.

In Ireland, we are reported to death. There are huge amounts of stuff. I certainly do not think there would be much point in our two groups working independently and coming up with a set of things that are going in opposite directions. There are options there. The oversight group could step down what it is doing and leave it to the committee or we could have more engagement to make sure we are both generally working in the same direction. It is no issue for me. I think we could work together. I have not heard anything here today that is different from what we are thinking. I think we are all ad idem on lots of issues. If we are able to support each other and do a better job, great. If not, let us call it and act on that. As I said earlier, my interest is very personal. I am interested in trying to deal with stuff as we go along.

On the integration of primary care and secondary care, I have some ideas myself. The oversight group is going to look at this issue when we sit down. We will examine the issues, talk to the experts and come up with some pieces that are really helpful. That might include things like training modules and improving training at general practice level, better links between primary and secondary care and between people working on the ground, promoting the kind of multidisciplinary team that expands to include families, general practitioners and whoever else might be able to support someone. It is not always someone on a formal team who can help. Peer support workers, for instance, give fantastic support to people. It is about looking within a community rather than sticking to the usual model of identifying the key people we need. If those people are not available, we have to start looking at alternatives. I do think there are people in community groups, peers, who have expertise by experience, and families can add that kind of support to the professional people who are there. As was said, a mental health problem can often be linked to lots of other things that are going on in people's lives that have nothing really to do with an organic mental health problem. We have mentioned that social things impact on people's work.

I have addressed the question about over-medication. There is a role for medication. If there is over-medication, it is a professional issue. There are clinicians in our group who understand that and we will discuss with them what is the appropriate forum in which to deal with it.

The whole issue of retaining staff is going to be a huge challenge. As I said, it is not just about money. It is about people being valued and supported. It is really important that we try to identify the best ways of supporting people who are doing very difficult work, not just professionally in terms of their practice every day but also just as human beings who are dealing with difficulties. I think that would be really helpful.

Deputy Martin asked about how the oversight group can work in tandem with the committee. I think we can have that discussion. If someone tells us we are not needed, that is something we will take on board. We should be able to work out a way. As I was saying in my previous comments, there is a whole range of different supports there. Mindfulness can be useful as can building resilience. Very often, those who work in these areas have not traditionally been seen as people who would work at supporting people within the community.

I have mentioned the funding piece before. We will take that back and say there were concerns raised about funding. Is there enough coming and when it comes in, how is it tracked? I hope I have addressed all the questions.