Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

I commend the Technical Group on bringing forward this important motion tonight and on ensuring that mental health issues get the time and the prioritisation in the Parliament that they deserve to ensure we continue to implement the A Vision for Change document and to continue the progress made in recent times. Undoubtedly, a great deal remains to be done.

It is often said that the mark or character of an individual or a person is determined by how they treat people who are more vulnerable than them and the same can be said of a society. Let us consider our record since independence in Ireland. As a society and a country we have left a lot to be desired in terms of how we treated the weaker and more vulnerable. This ranges from those who were physically or mentally disabled to children. Issues arise with regard to the record of how we have ensured they have been protected throughout the years. This also applies to vulnerable people such as single mothers and, not least, those with mental health concerns. The State has been grossly inadequate in providing services to ensure people with mental health concerns get the treatment they need and the hence the ability to make a quick and a full recovery.

I wish to focus on child and adolescent mental health services. These form a key component of the services we must continue to provide. Studies have shown that one in ten children and adolescents will suffer from mental health disorders severe enough to cause impairment. The same studies show that experiencing such mental health difficulties in childhood and adolescence is a key indicator of mental health issues later in life. The expansion of child and adolescent mental health services is a key component of A Vision for Change. A key characteristic of that is setting up child mental health service teams which can draw on multidisciplinary people in order to take comprehensive and complex assessment and treatment approaches. In addition, they can provide packages of care where more than one professional intervention is required in order to meet the needs of young people.

Child and adolescent community based services are poorly staffed and only 41% of the staffing recommended under A Vision for Change is currently in place. The moratorium on public sector recruitment has hit mental health services very severely and disproportionately. I know from the comments of the Minister of State that she is keenly aware this must not be allowed to continue and the moratorium will be lifted. In her comments she mentioned the need for 450 posts under A Vision for Change. I recall reference being made to 300 posts. I ask for clarification on the difference.

In my home area of Donegal I have seen first-hand the change in mental health services. An old facility, St. Conal's mental health facility which used to house hundreds of people, was closed recently. In the past six weeks the Minister of State opened a new mental health unit. I acknowledge the effort and contribution of the former Minister of State, John Moloney, in ensuring the unit was built. I acknowledge the comments of the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, on the efforts made by previous Ministers, while at the same time recognising the vast amount of work that remains to be done.

The development of services in my area is a good example of where we have come from and where we need to go. A former hospital housed hundreds of patients who lived there for many years. We now have a unit with a capacity of 30 or 40 beds, which is sufficient to deal with inpatient-----

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