Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was shocked when the Minister for Health announced last week that he was going to cut €12 million from the funding for mental health services. I have no doubt that this will have a hugely negative impact on services. If the cuts materialise, it will demonstrate that the Minister is totally out of touch with the suffering and support needs of those facing mental health issues in Ireland. In our Better for Health policy Sinn Féin pledges an additional €35 million spending increase in one year. Just 6% of the HSE's budget is spent on mental health services compared to the percentage recommended in A Vision for Change.

Mental Health Forum, an agency which promotes improved and prioritised mental health services in Ireland, reported that one in seven adults in Ireland had experienced a mental health difficulty in the past year. It also reported that mental health difficulties were an issue of inequality. The probability of mental health problems is considerably higher among people living in deprived areas. One study found that 58% of homeless people in Dublin and Limerick had a mental health diagnosis and that one in three of them had attempted suicide in the past year. Real lack of investment and poor delivery of mental health services are inextricably linked with the shocking and distressing level of suicide which, unfortunately, is nowhere more apparent than in my home city of Limerick where suicide is often very public. The River Shannon has taken many lives. The regular sound of a search and rescue helicopter hovering over the city causes huge distress to many, not just those directly affected but, I believe, the entire community. It can be stomach turning as the search continues. In this regard, I thank personally the Limerick Marine Search and Rescue Service and Corbett Suicide Prevention Patrols Limerick which do fantastic voluntary work on a 24/7 basis in the city, often in very difficult circumstances.

Data contained in an annual report of the National Office for Suicide Prevention show that Limerick city, Cork city, County Kerry and Waterford had recorded the highest suicide rates in the period 2011 to 2013. The highest rate in the State was in Limerick city where there were 21.1 deaths per 100,000 of population, almost twice the national average of 11.4. It is reported that there were 541 deaths by suicide in 2012, 475 in 2013 and 459 in 2014, giving a total of 1,475 in those three years. This is appalling.

I conclude by supporting the call on the Minister by the Psychiatric Nurses Association to honour repeated commitments given by the Minister of State, Ms Kathleen Lynch, that the mental health budget would be ring-fenced and protected.

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