John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this issue. I am not sure whether it is good to draw a dichotomy between health and mental health. I know we need to accentuate the whole mental health argument in order to raise awareness of it but at the end of the day, it is all about health. I think we will have reached a successful point when people regard their mental health as an essential component of their overall health and well-being. I hope we will reach a day when we do not need to talk about mental health as opposed to physical health.

The demand for speaking time during the debate on mental health reflects well on this Parliament. Like some of my colleagues, I am getting to contribute to this discussion at the third attempt. My slot is quite short. There has been a rich tapestry of contributions from Deputies on all sides of the House. Everyone has had something unique to contribute to the debate. I know the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, will take that on board. Her task is to parse what has been suggested and come up with a cohesive policy.

Many of my colleagues will know that there was a positive protest on the street outside the Dáil in recent weeks. As I was walking back in through the gates of Leinster House that day, I heard someone call my name. It turned out to be an 18 year old student from my constituency who had taken a half-day from school to be here. The person in question had walked to Kildare Street because they wanted particular issues to be raised. When I stopped at a petrol station in Rathfarnham on my way home that evening, I ended up engaging in two conversations with constituents on the whole topic of mental health, which was quite live at the time. All of this shows that this is a big issue. The Minister of State does not need me to tell her that.

I would like to focus on a couple of issues during my brief comments. I am not making a political argument when I mention that the establishment of a national mental health authority was included in Fianna Fáil's manifesto for the recent general election. I suggest that a national mental health authority, filled with experts from across the wide range of mental health fields, is badly needed to co-ordinate the entire public policy approach to mental health and to give mental health a central position in national dialogue, policy and development. A national mental health authority could ensure every Department and Government decision is mental health-proofed. We have never done that before. Other kinds of proofing take place when decisions are made by the Government but we need to engage in mental health-proofing to improve awareness of the downstream effects of Government and Department decisions on mental health.

We need to look at the crude figures for investment in mental health and in structures supporting mental health from a cost-benefit perspective. It has been proven in other jurisdictions, including Australia and New Zealand, that such investment results in a reduction in health premiums in line with the reduction in the cost of mental health difficulties to health insurers. I am bringing the debate down to the brass tacks of figures. We also need to start a more coherent and developed national mental health conversation. The recent appointments to the Seanad indicate that my party is taking seriously the need for such a conversation.

Many people of all ages are not aware that their mental health can suffer in times of stress, crisis and loss. This is a big issue that needs to be addressed. Having worked in this field for a number of years, I am aware that this aspect of the matter can come as a surprise to many people. Many of my clients were really taken aback by how they were responding to previous traumas or crises. Many people are not aware that it is perfectly natural to feel bad or down - or "abnormal", as my colleague said - in the teeth of or the aftermath of a crisis or loss. Many people are not aware that when we suffer loss or trauma, the body holds onto it and finds some kind of way of letting that loss or trauma go. How could we be aware that it is okay to feel sad, down, angry, frustrated, anxious, hopeless or depressed when our national stereotype involves suffering in silence? We need to break that kind of stereotype.

I have much more to say on this issue but time has run away with me. I will finish with a sentence that is known across the psychological field: "Lack of expression leads to depression". We are still on statements but action will be needed at some point. I look forward to seeing what the Minister of State proposes out of the fruits of these statements.

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