Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

As well as being budget day, last Tuesday was World Mental Health Day. It is a day of increasing importance, given the explosion of reported mental health problems in Ireland and right around the world. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, depression will be the largest contributor to disease burden. In Ireland, at least one in four people will have a mental health problem in the course of their lives, and for young people the figures are even more striking. By the age of 13, one in three young people will have experienced a mental health problem. By the age of 24, that will have increased to more than one in two. Tragically, Ireland now has the highest rate of child suicide of girls in Europe, and ten people die by suicide every week in Ireland. Why is this massive rise taking place? It partly relates to a reduction in stigma surrounding mental health and, therefore, a rise in reporting. However, it is also hard to avoid the conclusion that we face an epidemic of mental health problems or, as Mark Fisher put it, a mental health plague. There are multiple contributing factors but there is increasing recognition of the role of social and environmental factors. To be blunt, neoliberal capitalism has created a society with deepened, dramatic inequality. It has driven the atomisation of people and the breakdown of communities. These are the conditions in which, unfortunately, mental health problems thrive. The Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK reported that inequality is a major determinant of mental illness. The greater the level of inequality, the worse the health outcomes. Children from the poorest households have a threefold greater risk of mental ill health than children from the richest households. This risk is particularly strong for those facing homelessness. A new study reveals the results for both parents and children are devastating and lifelong. The risk is strong for those facing oppression such as young LGBTQ people, who are four times more likely to have mental health problems, and Traveller communities, which face suicide rates six times those of settled communities.

What needs to be done about this? The stigma needs to be taken out of mental ill health. We need to fight fundamentally for a society without alienation and in which people do meaningful work, have control over their lives and are connected to others in their communities. We need proper funding and staffing of mental health services right now. We need universal access to counsellors in primary care and 24-7 direct-access mental health clinics supported by round-the-clock telephone support, but we do not have this. We had A Vision for Change in 2006, which still has not been implemented. The Government's announcement in the budget of €35 million extra was not honest because €20 million of that was announced last year. It is an additional €15 million. I know the Government sent a letter this morning to Mental Health Reform stating that the money will be given and that A Vision for Change will be implemented, but I do not see the figures adding up. It is stated in the confidence and supply arrangement that A Vision for Change will be implemented.

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