Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

A Vision for Change was launched in 2006. That innovative document inspired hope and was a clear roadmap for a mental health service where our most vulnerable citizens would be placed at the heart of their personal journey to recovery. Ten years later the implementation of this excellent document has been appallingly slow. The tragic truth is our citizens with mental health difficulties have been let down. We need to revisit A Vision for Change and prioritise its full implementation to improve the mental health outcomes for adults and children in Ireland. Such work is vital and every resource should be made available to help those who are unwell or struggling with symptoms of mental ill health, but sometimes it seems the conversation is solely about our response to mental illness. It is time for this country to have a new conversation about sowing the seeds of mental wellness in our schools and communities.

While the Green Party welcomes this motion before the House, we propose an amendment which would merely add to the proposed motion to address formally prevention as well as cure. In our amendment we request the Government to initiate a process of engagement and collaboration with relevant experts on this island and liaise with similar experts abroad to examine current resilience programmes being offered in schools and all other relevant mental health initiatives on offer, to determine their effectiveness, and to design and implement evidence-based intervention programmes at primary and secondary schools that promote resilience and measure the effectiveness of same.

Our young people's sense of self-worth and self-belief are often so fragile that they shatter at the first crisis. Research from the world of psychology indicates that it is possible to teach children to be more resilient. Scientists have identified key traits or strengths that can be harnessed within children and cultivated within school communities that will help them thrive despite adversity and to achieve positive outcomes despite the obstacles they may face. We need to explore and engage with the experts from the world of positive psychology within Ireland and abroad in the knowledge that developing and implementing evidence-based intervention programmes, as outlined in our amendment, will be of critical benefit to our children. Similar initiatives are delivering superb results in countries like Australia, New Zealand, America and closer to home in the UK.

Although some Members have spoken of positive psychology and resilience, I would respectfully bring to Members' attention that the proposed amendment by the Green Party is the only proposed amendment to this motion that specifically addresses prevention as well as cure. Surely we should be willing to embrace formally, at the highest level, the evidence-based approach to mental wellness as well as to treat mental ill health.

Life is an imperfect journey. The reality is that challenges, setbacks and misfortunes are inevitable for everyone. I would ask the Members of this House who have spoken of the merits of this motion to take this opportunity to embrace the new politics we have all heard so much about since February and support the Green Party amendment, because alongside the full implementation of A Vision for Change we need a vision for sustaining mental wellness.

See this speech in context