Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ceapaim go bhfuil sé in am dúinn stad a chur leis an gcaint agus leis an díospóireacht toisc go bhfuil a fhios againn cad ba cheart dúinn a dhéanamh. We know what we should be doing because it is all in A Vision for Change. There is general agreement that this document is very important. It was published in 2006 with a ten-year framework, which is now up. The question is what has been achieved. I acknowledge the progress that has been made. There is a greater awareness of mental health and we have more people speaking more openly about mental health issues. There is an acceptance that, at the very least, it is okay to say "I feel down" or "I feel depressed".

I believe we are all committed to implementing A Vision for Change but that means ensuring the resources and the staffing are in place to do that. In the last Dáil I was a member of the cross-Oireachtas group on mental health and, each year, we were able to agree on a pre-budget submission. One thing that can be learned from this strategy, and from all strategies, is the need for an implementing and monitoring committee to meet regularly - at least every six months - with very specific targets and indicators. That has not happened and there was no information system on the outcomes of delivery.

The restructuring of health and the reconfiguring of management and delivery saw mental health not getting the attention it should have. In addition, the economic crash played a huge role in regard to funding, resources and staff, which it should not have. No one likes to take a cut in their salary or allowances but under no circumstances should somebody with a disability, whether mental, physical or intellectual, have to take a cut. They have additional costs of living that the rest of us do not have, as well as other difficulties.

The last Dáil was a kind of Lanigan's ball with the €35 million - it was there, then it was not there and then €15 million reappeared. I am still not quite sure where that €35 million went. Any strategy has to fit the people it is serving, not the other way around. The real test of a strategy is how it deals with those who do not fit into the particular categories and those whose needs are not being met in the course of a strategy. Therefore, there is a need for flexibility.

I want to mention those with mental health issues and those who are in addiction. There is a lack of counselling services for such people, apart from one service I know in the north inner city, the Oasis-Deora counselling service. Its funding is minimal but it is taking referrals from the bigger organisations which do get a lot of funding because those organisations either cannot or will not see those with a mental health issue who are also in addiction. A person presenting with a physical ailment will have a battery of tests and a range of treatments offered to them; if they present with a mental health issue, they could be diagnosed within 20 minutes and then be put on medication.

Another point is that we need dedicated intellectual disability nurses in accident and emergency units. In addition, teachers and youth workers identify young people with a mental health issue very early on, and it is at that point the intervention is needed.

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