Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 7 November 2023
Committee on Mental Health
Mental Health Care for Migrants and Ethnic Minorities: Discussion
Mr. Patrick Reilly:
I was thinking about this a good deal yesterday and this morning and wondering how to say it in a way that it will be received the way I want it to be received. Where do the priorities lie with the Government? In 2020 it committed to a Traveller and Roma mental health action plan. We have not seen that go any further. When I ask where the priorities lie, I mean that as Deputy Gino Kenny referenced, different groups are coming into Ireland for a variety of reasons. It is not about separating them, definitely not. It is about inclusion. We spoke about that. However, where does the Government see its priorities? We are getting farther away from being heard when it comes to the issues because Pavee Point, the Traveller and Roma Centre and many other groups have been here before presenting on issues on Traveller mental health with colleagues from different organisations. There is frustration as to where the Government's priorities lie. A landscape has been made for that; that is my input regarding that piece.