Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, is present because I wish to raise the issue of mental health with him. Earlier today, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children's sub-committee on the high level of suicide in society heard a presentation on psychosis. The early intervention programme for psychosis was outlined for members of the sub-committee by Professor Eadbhard O'Callaghan. The programme aims to reduce unnecessary delays in obtaining treatment as well as providing treatment in community-based settings in a way that is both young adult-friendly and holistic. It addresses not just pharmacological but also psychological, social and vocational aspects of a person's situation to maximise the likelihood of recovery.

Professor O'Callaghan informed the sub-committee that early intervention programmes for psychosis work. They reduce the unnecessary delays in getting treatment and so people are less unwell when they come for treatment. Such intervention programmes have been shown to reduce the need for involuntary admissions, reduce suicidal behaviour, increase the prospect for recovery and be cost effective. They are preferred to conventional services by individuals and their families. Professor O'Callaghan is carrying out a pilot study in the south-east Dublin and Wicklow area with a population of 371,000.

Psychosis is an umbrella term used to describe conditions that affect the mind where there has been some loss of contact with reality, including hallucinations and delusions. The suicide rate for people with psychosis is 20 times the rate in the general population. There is a very high risk of suicide among people with psychosis, but it can be reliably identified and effectively treated. Those with psychosis constitute a suitable group to target to try to reduce suicide.

In the Dublin area at present there is an average duration of untreated psychosis of 23 months. Professor O'Callaghan told the sub-committee that such a delay is unacceptable for young people. The duration of untreated psychosis ranges from one month to 240 months.

The sub-committee also heard statistics concerning the length of time a person with psychosis is left untreated and the incidence of attempted suicide. If such people are treated within 13 months, they are never suicidal. If, however, the treatment delay is between 13 and 22.5 months, they contemplate suicide, and if the treatment is delayed for up to 39.9 months, they will seriously attempt suicide. The best predictor of whether a person will get better from a psychosis is the length of time it took to get effective treatment.

The early intervention system of treating psychosis has been prove

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