John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Griffin for sharing time. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, on her appointment to a very important position. I hope the Government will give her the resources necessary to tackle, in so far as she can, the issues that arise in the mental health area. As these are many and varied, I will not dwell on them in great detail other than to mention a couple of important issues.

Speaking as someone who spent six unhappy months as a mathematics teacher, I believe the Government must reinvest in guidance counselling at second level. In its first year in office, the previous Government's decision to integrate guidance counselling hours in overall school hours resulted in a significant reduction in the number of guidance hours available in secondary schools. As the economy improves and more investment is made in education, particularly in second level, the issue of guidance hours should be tackled first. While this issue does not fall directly within the remit of the Minister of State, I hope she will be in a position to influence the Minister for Education and Skills and ensure action is taken on the matter. As Deputy Griffin outlined, people in every walk of life face many pressures. Young people, in particular, are under pressure caused by unrealistic expectations, social media and so forth. For this reason, the cuts in guidance counselling must be reversed as soon as possible.

The statements people make on social media never cease to amaze me. People would never dream of making the same comment to one's face or if one was willing to answer them back. I took a leaf out of the Acting Chairman, Deputy Durkan's book by answering back on social media. It is amazing that some people who hide behind anonymity are not used to people they target answering back. Some people will call politicians every name under the sun because they believe it is fine to abuse us. While I accept that social media, as with all other media, cannot and should not be censored, an element of personal responsibility must attach to the statements people make on social media. While I do not know how this issue can be addressed, I note the House has not yet had a proper discussion of the issue.

I grew up in a household in which mental health was always discussed. In the past ten or 15 years, the stigma attached to speaking about mental health has been declined, although it has not yet been eliminated. Nowadays, people feel they can speak about issues that remained unspoken previously. An uncle of mine who lived with my family spent most of his life in a psychiatric hospital where he should never have been placed. Thankfully, this no longer occurs for the most part because families and the institutions of the State are much more aware of mental health issues and must more able and better resourced to deal with them. A job of work remains to be done, however, and I hope the Minister of State, as the face of mental health in government, will ensure it continues.

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