Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for appearing before the committee. I imagine it is a busy and difficult time, dealing with this awful pandemic.

I am also delighted to see the Ministers of State, Deputies Mary Butler and Frankie Feighan. The issue I am going to bring up today will involve all three Departments, and that is the issue of mental health. While I know it is not the Minister's specific remit, I would love to see the three Departments working together because there is no doubt the mental health issues associated with this pandemic are going to surpass anything we have previously experienced. We are facing a mental health crisis, of that there is no doubt. It is vital we get ready for the additional mental health issues that will arise from Covid and work on recommendations on how to prepare for a significant increase in mental health service demand.

Because of Covid, secondary care mental health services are facing a huge escalation in need. I believe it is going to peak in a few months time and will last for many years, and now is the time to flatten that curve. Unless we anticipate, plan and invest in all of our secondary care mental health services as a priority, they will be overwhelmed, with awful consequences for mental health and the economic recovery of our country. It is paramount we start to strategise ways to implement greater Government action to respond to the impending mental health crisis and to strategise a recovery plan for mental health during and in the aftermath of Covid-19. That is why it is very important that the Minister prioritises this, even though I know it is the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler.

The three Departments need to work together on this. We all know the evidence that mental health has a huge impact on physical health. It can start off with mental health and then turn into a physical issue for people. We need to look at an interventionist way of working together in this area. I am delighted this committee will be

setting up a sub-committee on mental health and I would love to work with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and her Department on that, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and the Minister, Deputy Donnelly.

In order to adequately resource mental health services, it is essential that the Government monitors and reports the mental health impact of Covid-19 nationwide among particular groups of people, including people with pre-existing mental health difficulties. What are the existing plans or are there existing plans to do this? How does the the Minister propose that the capacity of counselling in primary care can be increased and made available to people in an affordable way during the Covid-19 crisis?

I want to stress the impact of Covid-19. As a therapist, I am working on the front line with this. The organisation I am heading is inundated with people coming to us at this point and we have had to take on more therapists on a one-to-one basis. There is a crisis and it has to be made a priority. I would love to see the three Departments working together.