Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague, Deputy Browne, on the work he did in bringing the Bill to the House. I welcome the conversation we are having and I also welcome the opportunity to contribute.

Mental health issues are endemic in our society and are growing, particularly among younger people. By that, I do not only mean teenagers but also children as young as five or six who are experiencing mental health difficulties. I think this problem has developed in recent times and was not always as bad as it is now, although we recognise that the position has improved and that there is better reporting in respect of it. We have children of national school age who are self-harming and presenting with stress, anxiety and depression. We need to do a lot more research to help our own understanding as to why that is happening.

I agree with Deputy McLoughlin that while drugs and alcohol certainly play a role, social media has to be a major factor in creating those problems. A child as young as seven or eight might have a smartphone. Children are constantly contactable and are under constant scrutiny, although they may not realise it. They are either being excluded from or included in particular conversations. They are being tagged in photographs and commented on. There is constant commentary on their appearance, how they conduct themselves, whether they meet the standards of the group or school they are in. There is immense and constant pressure on younger people. There have been conversations more recently about having screen-free time. Parents should perhaps be better educated. Maybe we need to put in place education programmes to highlight the importance of having screen-free mealtimes. There should be a time when the phone is not accessible, perhaps at night when children go to bed. It certainly cannot be in the interests of children to be on their phones last thing at night before they close their eyes and first thing in the morning when they wake up. That has to have an impact.

I am reminded of a young lad and I think I can mention his name because what happened to him was quite widely reported. I heard Deputy Butler speak about the impact that the suicide of a friend has on the wider group. I refer to a young man by the name of Ben Garrett, from my town of Castlebar, who was a very close friend to my sister and brother. He was involved in the boxing club where my brother and sister still box. He went on to become a member of the Defence Forces. I am spokesperson for defence and this affected the defence community as well. He took his own life in County Galway where he was posted. I can see Deputy Rabbitte nodding because it was quite widely reported in counties Mayo and Galway and, indeed, nationally. I recall the search effort that went on for in excess of a month. People from the boxing club and all of his school friends were involved. They were walking along the edge of the River Corrib in Galway searching for his belongings and searching for Ben. I recall the impact that had on those younger people, my brother and sister in particular. I also recall that Ben's mother took them all aside and said they must remember the impact that this has on families, they must tell others about the difficulties they are having and they must for God's sake stay away from drugs and alcohol.

People have spoken about not recognising the signs. Ben gave the impression of confidence, happiness and things going very well. It is clear that underneath he was in a lot of trouble. If only we had taken more time to talk about it. If only there was not such stigma attached and it was more okay to talk about mental health. We are definitely getting to a stage where it is okay to talk about it. We want people to talk about it. Certainly, his group of friends in Castlebar and in the boxing club needed to talk. We had the Ben Garrett memorial cup not so long ago and we are all having a conversation now about mental health. They are all talking about it. If we are looking for a positive out of that horrific situation, that is one.

We have to look at services, particularly in rural areas. I know of one lady who had to go to Pieta House in Tuam to get counselling services because there were none available in County Mayo. I know our population might not be as large as some of the other counties but we still need services. As a result of the geographic size of our county, and because basic counselling services are so expensive, the lady had travel to County Galway because that was the only place she could get them. This is not acceptable.

Deputy Rabbitte has mentioned the out-of-hours services. Unless one presents with difficulties between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, the options are An Garda Síochána or the accident and emergency department. If a young person is hugely distressed, presents at an accident and emergency department and then has to sit for six or more hours in a very pressurised environment, with bright lights, lots of stimulus, and various other people attending with different illnesses and ailments, it puts additional stress on that individual. We know people are being sent home. We need additional supports for youth mental health services out of hours. There needs to be a 24-7 response and facilities for those people.

We also need to address the cost of treatment. We often hear about the worst cases and those who present with the worst levels of depression, anxiety and mental health stress.

Many people are experiencing some level of anxiety. I would say every second or third person is experiencing social anxiety, pressure or stress in his or her life. There are no real services for mild mental health issues. The only services that are available are private ones. People are being encouraged to seek out cognitive behavioural therapy to deal with difficulties associated with anxiety. The average cost of an hour with a specialist in cognitive behavioural therapy is €80. This puts such services way beyond the reach of ordinary people. The cost of treatment needs to be addressed.

The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, has a very difficult job. I agree with Deputy Rabbitte that he is well placed to take on this role. He has a genuine desire to do a good job in this area. I think he appreciates the particular difficulties being encountered by young people and children. I wish him well in this role. I am sure he will have the support of this House. I agree with Deputy McLoughlin that the investment of resources needs to start at national and secondary school levels. Teachers, who are very often to the fore in terms of recognising the signs of mental stress and mental health issues in younger people, need to receive training. In addition to looking at how we treat the problem and how we respond to issues, we need to look at the source of the problem to see how we can prevent these issues from developing in the first place.

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