Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of mental health and suicide prevention with the Tánaiste. Yesterday, the coroner's court held an inquest into the death by suicide of a young man in November 2014, Ryan Dempsey from the Liberties. He was in his early 20s and he had his full life ahead of him. He was clearly a young man at risk. He had been discharged five times from accident and emergency units in the six-month period before his death. On one occasion when he took an overdose he was brought to the accident and emergency unit and discharged on the same day. Another time he was found hanging and brought to the accident and emergency unit and discharged 12 hours later. The following day he tried to throw himself out of a window and again he was brought to the accident and emergency unit and he was discharged within hours. On the final occasion he presented himself to the accident and emergency unit where he expressed suicidal feelings. He was left in a room by himself where he attempted to cut himself twice. He was then transferred to a ward and left on his own again. Ryan hung himself and died.

How hard it was for his loving family to see their son suffer like that. The family suffered too as they desperately tried to get the help and support Ryan so urgently needed. They are still suffering the loss of their son and brother. At this particularly difficult time I acknowledge the presence of Ryan’s father, Fran, who is in the Gallery, and members of his courageous family. We failed Ryan. The health system failed Ryan. How different it might have been if Ryan was provided with the proper follow-up care on his first presentation. His family believe that he was not assessed properly, he was not observed properly and his care was inappropriate and inadequate right up until the time he took his life. Ryan was failed by a mental health service which simply does not function at the times when people need it. Accident and emergency units are not the right place for people in acute mental distress.

We must fund the delivery of community and early intervention services, as was promised in A Vision for Change ten years ago. Ten years on, we still do not have a 24-7 crisis intervention service, not a single crisis house has been established and at present there are just 15 suicide crisis intervention nurses in the State. People in distress are presenting to the Garda and accident and emergency units, places where overstretched and sometimes inappropriately trained staff struggle and do their best but they are not capable of providing the appropriate care.

Today, a shocking report issued by the ISPCC further underlined the desperate needs in this area. The report states that children can wait for up to four weeks for an emergency mental health nurse and it takes 18 months to see a child psychologist. I am sure the Minister will agree that is not acceptable. The Tánaiste is not new to government. She sat at the Cabinet table for the past five years. We still lack 24-7 crisis intervention and appropriate support services. When will young people like Ryan be served and not failed by the mental health system?

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