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

This is the third time since my election to Dáil Éireann last February that we have discussed mental health in this Chamber. Despite the Government's commitments to implement A Vision for Change, it refuses to lead effectively from the front, refuses to implement real and positive changes to our mental health services and refuses to prioritise the mental wellbeing of our most vulnerable citizens. By reneging on its commitment to invest appropriately in our mental health services, this Government has signalled its contempt for the human rights of those with mental health symptoms. It confirms in the minds of the many shattered families that their agonising wait for appropriate interventions and supports for their loved ones will be a weight that will continue under this Minister's watch. Tragically for some, this weight has and will continue to prove fatal.

It copperfastens the sense of hopelessness that they have become accustomed to since A Vision for Change was launched. It is a blueprint document full of vision that has been accompanied by a snail's pace of change. It is an excellent document and it does not need review but full implementation. According to research, those who suffer from mental illness need a sustained sense of hope. However, this Government feeds them with hopelessness. Even more inexcusably, this Government promised a false dawn and an increase of €35 million in the recent budget to respond to their needs. However, within days of the budget, the harsh truth emerged that a significant proportion of the promised funding would not be allocated in 2017. This Government has yet again pressed the pause button on the recovery of thousands of its citizens. The message is very clear for those who, because of their symptoms, cannot rise and be heard and for those who, with enduring mental illness who sometimes cannot advocate for themselves, will be pushed aside as this Government balances its books.

The brilliant poet, singer and songwriter, the late Leonard Cohen, is on record sharing the sheer debilitating impact that mental illness, in his case, depression, had on his own life. He famously wrote, "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in". To those desperately awaiting therapy and support, it must feel as though every crack has been filled in and light might never break through. Further delays should not and cannot be countenanced. No more reviews and no more false dawns. There is a need to instil a proper sense of extreme urgency in order, for once and for all, to tackle one of the most critically important challenges of our time. Where there is a will, there is a way. However, the Government must prioritise, invest, inject hope and deliver appropriate supports and real solutions, translating words into tangible hope and delivering a real, effective, coherent and sustainable response.

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