Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is heartening to see, contrary to some of the popular opinion that has been expressed, that there has been enormous interest across the House on this debate. It is very welcome. The last time statements were made on it, I was unable to get a slot such was the popularity and interest of Members in wanting to be part of trying to find a solution to this problem and to be part of the debate around it.

When we take a very narrow focus of toing and froing with the Government on who spent more, who cut more and all of this kind of thing, we are missing a lot of the fundamental point. We are also doing a further disservice because we are abdicating our own and society's responsibilities. We are all citizens - brothers, sister, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, neighbours, friends, work colleagues and students - and we all have a role to play in mental health. We should focus the debate less on resources and a narrow definition of percentages.

I have to take issue with the previous speaker, Deputy Michael Harty, on percentages. When one compares Ireland's mental health budget as a percentage of the overall budget, the reason for the disparity is because of the amount of money we spend on drugs which is far in excess of the amount spent by many other countries across the EU. That distorts the percentage so it is an unfair comparison to say it is 8% versus 12%, which is the European norm. Any independent analysis would find that we spend more per capitaon mental health. I do not want to enter into that debate. In 2015, we spent something like €826 million on mental health, which was up from €711 million in 2012. That is a 16% increase in the mental health budget versus an 11% increase in the overall health budget. If we enter into those debates, we are missing many of the broader factors and I would like to broaden out the debate and look specifically at our collective responsibility and role in addressing the issues facing mental health because it is an increasing challenge, particularly for young people. I will hone in specifically on the education side of things in my contribution.

I was speaking to a number of experts recently and I asked some consultants if there had been a serious increase in the incidence of mental health issues and what they would attribute it to. Very interestingly, they informed me that while there has been a significant increase in the presentations of issues surrounding mental health, the physiological element to it is not increasing noticeably. Incidences of things like bipolar, schizophrenia and those sort of issues have not increased but the basic coping skills and coping mechanisms that people have to try to deal with matters are causing more and more problems. There are obviously a variety of reasons and we need to move the debate on to that. What is happening in society that is causing so many of our young people to feel that they cannot cope with the stresses and tests of everyday life? Trying to protect people from those stresses and tests is easier said than done.

Moving to the education system, I have always advocated that we can play a vital and productive role in this area. I have advocated also for the broadening of mental health awareness among teachers and pupils of schools. Much of that can be done by way of debate, awareness and people watching out for each other. I have always advocated the enabling of teachers in that regard.

When people think of mental health, they think of a crisis. They think, "Oh my God, I am not equipped to deal with this". I taught in both primary and secondary schools but mental health is about encouraging people to ask, "How are you? Are you doing okay? How are you feeling today?". Those are the initial steps that must be introduced in primary school and all of us must have a part in reaching out to each other and trying to promote that awareness in terms of the whole area of mental health. There are amazing resources for anybody in the education system who wants them, including the Iris the Dragonbooks. I have read some interesting books for young children that deal head-on with many of the issues around the challenges in the area of mental health.

Unfortunately, in the past 30 or 40 years our education system has become driven by points, attainment, competitiveness, and having to serve the needs of industry, commerce and so on. It is about playing its part in a successful economic society, but our education system is failing us if we are ignoring the cohort of people who are struggling at the expense of the commodification of education that has emerged in terms of grinds schools and so on. There is an inherent lack of understanding that, as a society, we must encourage a broadening of our education system to ensure that the dignity of every child is respected within the education system and that we must develop, promote, enhance and encourage their physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being to allow them reach their potential, whatever it may be. That is a challenge for all of us to take on board. I refer to teachers in particular because any of us who have children know how much they adore their teachers. In my day we were not so fond of our teachers but they are the most trusted people who are in daily contact with our children, whether they are in primary or secondary school. There is enormous potential in that regard and we should invest resources in upskilling those teachers. They are a caring and compassionate profession who want to be involved in this area but we must resource them and put the necessary supports in place to ensure teachers can recognise problems and, where it is more serious, refer for further help.

I always felt the term "mental health" was a difficult one for people of my generation and older. Heretofore, there was a stigma associated with the word "mental" in terms of being locked up away from society. Thankfully, younger people do not have the same view of that term.

I would like to see more co-operation among Departments. The Department of Health is represented here for these statements on mental health but I would like to see the Departments of Education and Skills, Children and Youth Affairs in particular, and even Social Protection, coming together to identify and address some of these issues. Many of the issues and challenges I have identified can be addressed by taking simple steps. It does not have to involve massive change. Much of it is cultural, particularly in our schools because it is our young people who are affected. I spoke recently with a psychologist who told me that many adults are presenting now for counselling to deal with issues, most of which can be traced back to their early development years. It is in their early years that people fail to cope with issues, and they present for therapies much later in life. If our school setting was more open, with a more holistic approach taken and everyone embracing their responsibility, and this is not about divesting responsibility from parents onto schools but about everybody being aware, caring and embracing this challenge, we would have much more success.

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