Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I could not; it broke my heart to read it twice this week.

Petition No. P00009/23, on reform of the Irish mental health services, is from Mr. Eoin O'Sullivan. This petition has three parts. First, that without delay counselling, psychotherapy and psychological services are deemed an eligible expense for tax relief in line with other health expenses, thereby reducing costs and giving more people the chance of benefiting from those services. Second, that the opening of the register for counsellors and psychotherapists be completed with the urgency it deserves in order that clients can have confidence in the service provided. At the moment, anyone can call themselves a counsellor or a psychotherapist, and there is no standardisation of qualifications across the different accrediting bodies. Third that counselling and psychotherapy services become VAT-exempt. While mental health services are recognised as essential services they are also liable to a VAT levy of 13%. Taking care of our mental health is as essential as taking care of our physical health.

The petitioner was invited to and appeared before the committee on 28 September 2023 to discuss his petition. Correspondence to support the petition was received from the Irish Council for Psychotherapy and the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. The petition was last considered on 30 November 2023, with the following recommendations: that the correspondence from the Department of Finance be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days; that CORU be written to with regard to both petitions, namely, No. P00009/23 on the reform of Irish mental health services and No. P00026/23 on counselling and psychotherapy, and asked for an update on the opening of the register; and that the committee invite CORU to a meeting, as petition No. P00009/23 relates to the same issue with CORU and counselling and psychotherapy. The secretariat received responses from CORU and the petitioner. The recommendations are that correspondence from CORU be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days, and that the petitioner's response be forwarded to the Department of Finance for comment within 14 days. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Petition No. P00012/23 is on justice and safety, and is from Mr. C. J. Gaffney. This petition relates to a request from the petitioner for the Government to compensate him out of the European Maritime Fisheries and Agriculture Fund, EMFAF, which the petitioner states was offered at a meeting in Brussels and was confirmed by the documents and by a radio interview supplied to the committee by Irish MEPs and senior EU officials. Considering "the unique and unprecedented circumstances in the case", the petitioner is also asking for "an official and impartial investigation in all aspects of the case on how such a dangerous vessel was certified as passing all suitability criteria, and continuously issued with valid sailing certification". The petitioner further states that the vessel was "accepted onto the Irish Register and issued with an Irish Fishing Licence, and as such, what was the role of the Irish Marine Survey Office in handling this case". The petitioner has also offered to provide numerous independent surveys, reports and professional opinions to make this a very quick and easy report to compile which, on the grounds of health and safety, he feels will have a major impact on saving fishermen's lives across the whole EU. The recommendations are that correspondence from the Department of Transport be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days, or go for option 2 from the EU petitions committee above, and advise the petitioner to submit the position himself via the PETI portal. The committee here would also like to thank the European Ombudsman for her assistance in this matter. Have members anything to raise on that or is that agreed?