Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am glad we are having this debate because no family in Ireland has not been affected by mental health issues. Our sense of mental well-being and contentment is one of the most important attributes that we have in society. Since the economic crisis in 2008, however, austerity has wreaked social havoc. It is not only bad for one's pocket or job prospects but for one's physical and mental health.

The Growing Up in Ireland study published last year showed that the stress of unemployment and poverty, caused by cuts in services and incomes, had damaged parents' mental health and had knock-on effects on their children's mental health. The stress of low pay and a lack of access to affordable housing, child care and health care have only added to this distress. I know this at first hand, having been a county councillor for the past seven years.

Mental health difficulties affect more than 500,000 people in Ireland. We have the highest suicide rate in Europe among teenage girls and the second highest among boys. Suicide is the No. 1 killer of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 years. Instead of supporting young people, however, the Government targeted them through cuts in their jobseeker's allowance as well as cuts in new entrants' pay, which disproportionately affects young people and young parents with children.

I welcome that the stigma around mental health, in particular regarding young men, has been challenged recently. We are all vulnerable at times to life's challenges and nobody is immune to bouts of desperation and feelings of hopelessness. We all would like to think that at a time of need for ourselves and our family and friends, essential services, such as in mental health, will be there when we need them most. However, staffing in mental health services has been cut by 10% in the years of austerity. For adult services, staff levels are only three quarters of what is recommended by the Department of Health. For children's services, it is even worse, with only half of the staff required in place. Children often wait more than a year to be seen. In emergencies, they find themselves on adult psychiatric wards because there are no beds in children's wards.

Early intervention is key to treating people with mental health issues. In the words of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, PNA: "For someone with mental health issues the riverbank, cliff top or shoreline is not the place to offer comfort and support. Intervention should be a much earlier stage." Where people finally get access to mental health services, the lack of funding for psychological and social therapies has led to an over-reliance on the use of medication. The HSE's counselling in primary care service receives tens of thousands of referrals each year but less than 1% of mental health funding. The recent cut of €12 million in the mental health budget shows that the Government is deaf to this pain and suffering. The budget of almost €800 million is widely condemned as being at only half the level that it should be and the Minister's mean-spirited cut of €12 million shows how out of touch he is with the gaping hole in mental health services.

Recent social research shows that in countries where there is greater inequality and where people have less control over their lives and work, there are more mental health and social problems. Redistributing wealth by taxing the richest 1% would reduce inequality and provide funding for support services.

While things can seem bleak at times, there is hope, and hope can come in many guises. There are many positive and important initiatives taking place everyday in communities and clinics around the country to help people to access help, cope with and, hopefully, recover from mental health difficulties. People Before Profit calls on the Government to tax the rich to reduce inequality and fund public services, including a doubling of the mental health budget. To help relieve the social causes of distress, we advocate an increase in the direct provision of public service jobs, housing and welfare and pay rises for workers across the private and public sectors. We support the PNA's proposal for a strike to protest the crisis in staffing levels. Front-line staff in mental health services are some of the most dedicated workers in the health service. The erosion of their pay and conditions has had a detrimental effect on them. Social solidarity is the true hope for the future of all our mental health.

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