Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is very positive that we have been having this discussion. I listened quite intently to many of the contributions. Some excellent proposals have been made by Members throughout the Chamber. I know the Minister of State will take the very best of them and all the positive ones on board and implement them. I congratulate her on her recent appointment and wish her the very best in her new role. I am sure she will do an excellent job. Mental illness is an area she feels very strongly about. I speak for every Deputy in saying any assistance on this issue we can give will be forthcoming. The Minister of State's role is very important.

Given the shocking figures on suicide and people presenting with mental health difficulties and the fact that modern communications technology and media can expose everybody to global events at the touch of a button on a telephone in the privacy of one's own home, very often when alone, I feel there is growth in anxiety. Perhaps with the exception of people at the front line in war zones or those in extraordinary circumstances, people are now being exposed to types of phenomena to which they may never have been exposed in the past. This is being treated as ordinary but I believe it is extraordinary, particularly for young people, very impressionable people and vulnerable people who are seeing all sorts of unspeakable violence and tragedy unfolding before them through social and various other media. It is a cog in a wheel but not something we should overlook either. The growth in anxiety levels is partly attributable to daily exposure to material people were not exposed to previously. It is just a cog in the wheel but it is a factor. In the future, as we try to tackle some aspects of the problem, we should consider this.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of very tragic suicides in Kerry in recent days and weeks. It seems to keep happening despite all the efforts made by so many people. Families and friends of suicide victims ask what more they could do, or what can be done. The State should certainly ensure that absolutely nobody slips through the net, that everybody experiencing a crisis has help and that there is no reason for someone not to receive help.

We must address crisis welfare to ensure those who are experiencing a crisis do not face problems caused by a lack of finance or restrictions to access. A person transferred to an accident and emergency unit after a road traffic collision will receive the best possible treatment irrespective of his or her financial circumstances, whereas people experiencing a mental health crisis must often join a waiting list for treatment when they present at a hospital. That is not good enough. People presenting in a crisis must be treated similarly to those who experience trauma in a road traffic collision. If such treatment is not available on the spot, the State must provide the funding needed to allow the individual in question to access treatment or assistance. This would not cost the world and would be supported by all sides in the House. Access to assistance must be provided.

On maternal health, I recently attended a meeting in Tralee organised by the Nurture charity. I urge the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, to meet representatives of the group as it provides a fantastic service. One of the issues raised at the meeting was the lack of accreditation for counselling services. This issue must be addressed.

Counselling services should become part of the culture of the workplace. Given the stressful nature of employment, the provision of workplace counselling services should become the norm rather than the exception.

We must take a ground-up approach to mental health, which means people should not wait for the State to do everything. This process must be driven by every citizen, starting at primary level. Children in primary school should learn about mental health in the same way as they learn about toothache or looking after themselves through sport. It should be a mainstream, ordinary part of the curriculum.

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