Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Táim buíoch do Theachta Eamon Ó Cuív as ucht a chuid ama a roinnt liom. I am delighted to be able to contribute to the debate. I already spoke on the issue of mental health in the debate on health which took place before this one. I congratulate the new Ministers of State, Deputies Helen McEntee and Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, on their appointments and I wish them well. There is a huge job of work to do on this issue in both of their areas.

We can all talk about what we each think is best in this sector but we must leave it to the professionals. Some very important people who are hardly mentioned in the debate at all are the psychiatric public health nurses. They do tremendous work and are certainly life-savers for some people. They are at some people's beck and call. That service is patchy throughout the country and it is one I would like to see improved on. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, mentioned guidance counsellors. We have an agreement with Fine Gael to bring back ex-quota guidance counsellors and we want to see it implemented as soon as possible. That is very important for students at that age.

The implementation of A Vision for Change must be given leadership. There are practical consequences throughout the country. The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, will know that a psychiatric unit is being moved from Navan to Drogheda, which has caused controversy. I do not want to add to that controversy. If someone tells me that it will actually improve the service for patients, I will accept it. Unfortunately, with the HSE over the years, we have been told certain things, particularly in regard to the removal of doctors. We were told it was in the best of patients but that turned out to be simply untrue. I am sceptical of that move and it needs to be better explained. Better leadership needs to be given on that issue. If it will improve the service for people who are in dire need, it will be accepted. Notwithstanding that, people parts of County Meath are worried that the move will have negative consequences. It has to be explained, at the very least.

I assure the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, that I am not going to ramp up political pressure on that particular issue if I am satisfied it is in the best interests of patients. However, I am not yet satisfied as it has not been explained to me properly. I would appreciate a written brief from the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, to explain exactly why it is happening or a meeting between the HSE and Members to explain the move and how it is in the best interests of patients. That has not happened yet. There are people who are happy to exploit any mental health issue but I am not going to do that in this case. If it is not explained to me properly, I will do everything in my power to make sure that a better service is provided in case this is simply a cutback. I note that it does involve a cutback to the number of beds in the north-east. We are told that this is what A Vision for Change recommends but nobody has sat down with Members and explained that to us. If that was done, it could alleviate the concerns. The public will accept a better service. Drogheda and Navan are not too far apart but it is a worry for people, particularly in the west of County Meath. It is incumbent on us to look at these issues carefully and strategically and to deal with them properly. We cannot always make political points, especially on this issue or on health issues in general, but nobody has made the case to me yet in regard to this move.

I would like to address a number of other issues that have been addressed in the debate, which has been very useful. As politicians, we have to make sure that the services are delivered. We have had very helpful interventions from a number of well-known people. Other people have come forward to say they were suffering in silence. I suspect a number of people have been suffering in silence. It is the very nature of the taboo in regard to mental health. We all know many people who suffer in silence from mental health issues. They will get the supports through their GPs, public health psychiatric nurses and, in some cases, through residential care in psychiatric hospital settings. The funding has to be there to pay for that. I do not want to see the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, having to deal with what the former Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch, had to deal with over the past few years in constantly battling for money. Fianna Fáil has suggested a mental health authority. The purpose of it would be to ring-fence the money and to make sure the cash is available for mental health services, as promised. The money would then presumably be spent in the best way.

Those are my thoughts. None of us has a monopoly of wisdom on this issue but I suspect that practically all of us have experience at some level or other in this area. Some people speak about it while others do not and that is their choice. Each person's choice should be respected.

I wish the Ministers of State well. I am not speaking directly about the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, who is only in the job a week or two but in terms of the situation in Meath, leadership is needed to explain the move because otherwise, it will become another political football where the best interests of patients are forgotten.

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