Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am very disappointed with the Taoiseach's answer. There is not a lot of help available. This morning we have an article the Irish Examineron 16 suicides that have happened in Cork in the past fortnight. Today it is Cork, another day it will be Kerry or Louth or Belfast. All sections and generations are affected by this issue from the very young to the very old in urban and in rural areas. I know the Taoiseach has had personal experience of this. It is at a human cost beyond comprehension. One in seven adults experience mental health challenges in any given year. In 2015, there were 451 recorded suicides in this State and there were 318 in the North. We all know that under-reporting is widespread, so the real figure across the island may be as high as 1,000. It is also recorded that at least 8,790 citizens presented with self-harm at hospitals in this State.

I will cite a local example. The Ladywell mental health service in Dundalk provides services for most of north Louth. Its staff are extremely dedicated but the rooms they operate from were originally hospital staff quarters and date back to when the Louth Hospital was built 70 years ago. Some of the rooms are closed because of dampness. The maintenance bill alone is a huge drain on the service's resources. Staff numbers have increased but there is no room for them at the Ladywell facility so they are based in Ardee. This means that people in Carlingford who need to access the service have to travel to Ardee, which is entirely unacceptable. That is an example of the service available in that area.

The State's mental health policy, A Vision for Change, is ten years old and ten years on there is still an absence of 27-7 crisis care. Staffing levels are 75% of the recommended number in A Vision for Change and in some cases they are well behind that figure. Staffing in child and adolescent teams is half that which is recommended. A Vision for Change commits the Government to providing 8.24% of the health budget to mental health services. That target has never been met and that pattern is repeated in this year's budget. An allocation of €35 million was announced but the Minister then said that only €15 million in additional funds would be provided for next year. That is an increase of less than 2%. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, is doing her best and we wish her well. All parties and all Independents should work with her but the Taoiseach needs to give her the required resources.

The fact is that this Government has failed like the previous Government to implement the A Vision for Change strategy. Will the Government commit to publishing a time-lined implementation plan - it does not need to do it today but it could do it next week - for the outstanding elements of A Vision for Change?

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