Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing with Deputy MacSharry who has been sent a message to come to the Chamber.

There is no doubt that modern life is very challenging. Bills pile up, homes are repossessed and jobs are lost. More hours are spent in cars stuck on bottleneck roads. Children are spending more time separated from their parents and families. People are time starved, with less capacity for leisure and community activities, and all of that leads to mental health pressures.

The proper care for those in need and the erosion of stigma about those people in need and who are suffering must be prioritised. Stigma is one of the most damaging factors undermining personal well-being and mental health. The stigmatised person is marginalised, devalued and rejected, and the greatest tragedy of all is that stigma keeps people from seeking help.

Our minds are our most treasured possessions, and yet the most fragile of all we possess. In recent years there has been a considerable growth in the number of voluntary organisations which are addressing suicide or mental health related issues. The wonderful work of the Samaritans, Pieta House and Console on a national level must be acknowledged and applauded.

We have more community recognition, initiatives and supports than at any time in the past. I see at first hand in Kildare the incredible work that Jim Brady and Hope D do in organising help and support for those in need of urgent counselling. I must also pay tribute to Peter Hussey, one of my personal heroes in life, who has established a group called Crooked House in Newbridge, which essentially helps young people, and particularly young people at risk, to develop the necessary coping skills to deal with all that life throws at them. Through theatre, drama and improvisation I have seen hundreds of young people in Crooked House deal with subjects as diverse as suicide, sexuality, depression, voting, civic participation and teenage pregnancies. The work of Crooked House has been acknowledged on a European level but, sadly, not in Ireland in terms of funding. I invite every Member of the House to come to Newbridge to see the incredible work it does.

Every one of us has a role to play in giving shape to a nation that cares for the mental well-being of all its citizens. It is welcome to see so many people in the public eye who come forward to share openly their stories about their own mental health struggles. That naturally will have a positive effect on removing the stigma associated with mental health issues. However, the test will be the extent to which we have nurtured a culture in society in which people in distress are encouraged not to feel any less of a human being or any less worthy of help, and to realise that mental health can be recovered after it has been lost; a culture in which we do not feel embarrassed about our own, or a family member’s, mental health, and it all starts with each of us and our own prejudices, ideas and actions.

I find it shocking and horrendously disappointing to every citizen who has been impacted by mental illness that money from the mental health budget has been diverted into the general health budget. My home town and county has been rocked by deaths due to mental illness and shortfalls in treatment for mental health. Just over three years ago the small town of Rathangan, with a population of 2,000, suffered five suicides of young men within a few weeks. I will never forget the sense of tragedy and overwhelming grief that pervaded our town for a long time and that has truly never left, but there was a strong community response and through our community, local youth club, Scooters, Hope D and the Health Service Executive, measures were put in place to help others.

During a short period of time early this year, five men died by suicide in Newbridge. There was hardly a person in the town not deeply affected by that epidemic. Kildare has the lowest funding for mental health and young people than any other county in the country.

The HSE has stated that one in four of us will experience some mental health problems in our lifetime. Mental health issues continue to silently inflict immense damage on our country. The undercurrent of depression, anxiety and addiction is a profoundly ingrained problem for society. No family is untouched by some form of mental health issue.

Our society is struggling to compensate for the shortcomings of a regime that will not take a holistic approach to funding mental health in a manner that treats every citizen equally. Under-resourced guidance counsellors at all levels of the education system understand the importance of mental health services for teenagers and young adults. They get it. Voluntary organisations, youth clubs and sports clubs have identified young people at risk and are doing their best to help. They get it.

The big issues currently facing our society are inextricably linked. I refer to housing, health and crime. Very recently, a principal of a second level school in Newbridge confided in me that one of the main problems facing children in her school was the threat of being without a roof over their heads.

Mental health is a major issue.

I would love to speak to many areas but I cannot do so in five minutes. Treatment delayed is treatment denied, leaving those in need in crisis.

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