Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have a chance to speak on this very important and sensitive topic. I congratulate the Ministers of State, Deputies Corcoran Kennedy and McEntee, on being appointed to their respective ministerial posts. I also congratulate the previous speaker, my constituency colleague, Deputy Stanton, on his appointment as a Minister of State last week.

In my constituency of Cork East, I deal on a daily basis with parents who are under great strain. Many of them have children who are waiting to be assessed to see if they have Asperger's syndrome or autism. Waiting lists for children to be assessed have spiralled out of control in my constituency. It is clear that despite the great work of the child and adolescent mental health services, they are unable to deal with the current backlog of applicants who require assessment. Parents have informed me that their children have been on waiting lists for assessment for up to 18 months. This has placed many parents under a great deal of stress. We all know that stress is one of the greatest causes of mental health illnesses. The recurring message I am receiving from my constituents is that children and their families are being messed around. A mechanism needs to be put in place to see how waiting lists for assessment for early intervention can best be reduced. Many of these children require urgent assessment, which will in turn allow them to receive the best possible treatment.

I recently spoke to a 47 year old man who has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. He told me it was as if he had been given his diagnosis and then wished the best of luck.

It is evident that the supports are limited to those who receive diagnoses, such as in this instance. We now need to provide appropriate services for all ages so that people can receive the necessary care they require.

It is high time the Government recognised that those who suffer from mental health issues do not stop suffering at 5 o'clock in the evening. Parents and families who have children and siblings who require care will tell us that it is not a nine to five job for them. Voluntary organisations throughout the country and in my own constituency do their utmost to be on the other end of the phone 24 hours a day. However, many State services that are supposed to provide such support vanish after 5 o'clock in the evening. As as result, many volunteer organisations now find themselves under great strain because of the ever-increasing workload and limited resources.

We often associate the word "stigma" with mental health. I pay tribute to the mental health awareness campaign that ran through the month of May. We all had the green ribbon on and I see some of my colleagues are still wearing it today. It was a good initiative that was put in place. It is the 1916 centenary and we like to think that the words "stigma" and "mental health" do not have to be associated with each other. However, the actions of some will mean that this will be never be the case. I heard recently about a girl of 16 years of age who was taken into a hospital in Cork in handcuffs because she had tried to commit suicide. The staff and gardaí were quizzed by onlookers who were informed that it was a protocol for those situations. What would anybody in the Chamber do if we witnessed this happening to one of our loved ones? If this is the protocol, I suggest we devise a new one.

We all agree that this Dáil must find a new way of conducting business. I firmly believe that on the issue of mental health, the way forward is something on which this Dáil must, and can, form a cross-party consensus. I have no problem acknowledging the work that my constituency colleague, Deputy Pat Buckley, does to raise awareness on suicide, nor do I have any problem in acknowledging the work that the former Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch, did during her term of office with regard to mental health. I am also aware of the good work that Adam Harris, brother of the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, does in raising awareness for those with autism. However, there is now an onus on us all in this Chamber to develop a mental health service that is fit for purpose. I look forward to working with the Ministers to make my contribution.

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