James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On average, two people per day are taking their own lives at present. This means two families and two groups of friends are devastated on a daily basis, and these are merely the deaths one can be certain are suicides. The issue of mental health and mental well-being affects everybody, including children, young people and the elderly, and it affects people in towns, rural areas and cities. In making mental health a front-bench portfolio, Deputy Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil are setting out clearly the priority this issue is for our party. As part of the agreement to support the minority Government, Fianna Fáil made it a critical point that the strategy, A Vision for Change, would be implemented fully, and the party expects this to happen. This means placing in our community the necessary supports to provide effective early interventions, support networks and a recovery model for those suffering from mental health issues.

One must treat the head and the heart with equal respect. A person who presents with a broken arm is not turned away, and someone who has the courage to speak out about his or her mental health should be given equally urgent care. To date, the Health Service Executive has been practising what effectively is graveside medicine in respect of mental health, and this must end. People with mental health issues are being treated inhumanely and families are suffering when simple early intervention could allow people to live full and amazing lives.

We need to see a community recovery model that allows people who suffer from mental health issues to receive treatment among their own in order that they can retain a sense of connectedness to their community.

In this time of modern communications we have never had as many close and personal friends. Some people have up to 4,000 or 5,000 close and personal friends on their Facebook pages, yet the daily interaction between people has almost been lost. For a farmer living in rural Ireland today, his hardware store has probably gone, along with the garda station, post office and school. The postman leaves letters in a green box at the end of the laneway and even the milk collector tends to come in the middle of the night. Farmers can go days without making contact with anybody.

Ten, 20 or 30 years ago, when young people were growing up the only people they were trying to compete with were those in their classroom. Now, however, they are trying to compete with others across the world because they can see what everybody is up to on Facebook.

We need to increase awareness of mental health problems and end the stigma concerning them to allow and encourage people to break their silence on the issue. That means giving people the confidence that if they break their silence they will get the supports they need within the community.

I support the closure, underA Vision for Change, of those old institutions. In the 1948 to 1949 period, almost one in 50 people was in an institution, but thankfully those days are long behind us. Part of the quid pro quofor closing those institutions was a buy-in by service users who were promised that community care would be there for those requiring mental health treatment. That has not been delivered, however, nor anything close to it. Much of that care work has been supplemented by voluntary groups, such as Cycle Against Suicide, Talk to Tom and others, but they need co-ordinated support at national level.

Suicide is now the leading cause of death among young people. In 2013-14, suicide among women increased by 14.7%. That was mostly women in their 20s, yet we lack research on how to prevent suicide. Only a few weeks ago, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, performed liposuction on the €35 million additional moneys provided for the mental health budget. He took €12 million out when more funding is needed. That was reprehensible.

The other day a young mother rang me to say that her almost five year old child who had experienced trauma has been awaiting an assessment for nearly two years. When some young people finally receive an assessment they are told that they are too old and no longer meet the criteria for treatment. They are then put onto other waiting lists and such people are constantly being shuffled around.

I urge the new Minister, Deputy Harris, to treat mental health as a crisis. He should establish a national mental health authority, similar in format to the Road Safety Authority. When road traffic deaths were increasing annually, we set up that authority which is independent of the Government. It was allowed to challenge the Government on policy setting and implementation. We need a similar body to tackle the prevailing mental health crisis.

I also urge the Minister to take on the vortex of inertia in the HSE, although I realise that will not be easy. I have dealt with the HSE and there are many good people in it, but there also seems to be a lot of paper shuffling and a lack of responsibility there. People suffering with mental health issues do not want any more tea and sympathy. Last Friday, Mr. Vincent Browne from Cycle Against Suicide told a public meeting on mental health in Wexford that they do not need any more mothering and apple pie.

The cause of mental health has been advanced to the point where it is being publicly discussed. Everybody supports more care for mental health, but they need funding and action. If the Minister takes action we will support him because he has a tough job on his hands. He must treat mental health as a priority and put it on an equal footing with physical health. If he fails, however, we will be relentless in our criticism. It will be the duty of every Fianna Fáil Oireachtas Member, including myself as spokesperson on mental health, to raise that issue. When Deputy Thomas Byrne from Meath speaks on education, he will raise mental health. When Deputy McConalogue speaks on agriculture, he will also raise mental health issues. When our spokesperson on disabilities, Deputy Murphy O'Mahony, contributes to debates, she will also raise mental health, as will Senator Catherine Ardagh, our party leader in the Seanad.

Mental health will no longer reside in the shadows, nor should it. We will be at the forefront of keeping it as a priority issue in this Chamber. I therefore call on the Minister to place mental health on an equal footing with physical health. He must fully implement A Vision for Change and develop a follow-on programme. A Vision for Change is now ten years old, but a follow-on programme should not be used as an excuse to park that policy which needs to be fully implemented. We also need to establish a policy group owned by the service users. It should not be a top-down policy, dictated to those with needs, but rather a policy that involves talking to people on the ground.

I ask the Minister to restore the €12 million cut in funding and ensure the money is spent. We have had endless announcements of mental health funding, but it is always left unspent and is then used elsewhere.

The Minister should institute a programme of awareness and coping skills in our schools. Young people today are increasingly facing stresses that previous generations did not have to cope with. In their teenage years, however, they may face their first serious moment without having developed natural coping skills.

I again urge the Minister to establish a national mental health authority, similar to the Road Safety Authority, which is independent of the Government. Such an authority could assess and challenge Government policy, thus ensuring mental health resources are delivered.

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