Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For someone in a vulnerable position who summons the strength to reach out and seek help while feeling helpless and alone requires a strength like no other. Sadly, too many do not get that vital help when they seek it. Sometimes it is only when someone has taken that drastic decision to try to end their life that the health system kicks in to try to help them survive. What we need is early intervention and more positive action at an early stage.

There is no doubt that our mental health service has serious deficiencies which result in long waiting lists for services for some of our most vulnerable citizens. We are all aware of where the problems lie. Chronic underfunding is a massive issue. Even the 8.2% figure set out in A Vision for Change has yet to be met. For all the talk about mental health as a political priority, we remain far below the 13% figure we managed in the 1980s. Without a meaningful and sustained increase in overall levels of funding, we will not be able to tackle the mental health crisis in our society.

The Mental Health Commission's recent reports on 43 units made for alarming reading, with serious deficiencies found in many of the residences, including the Lakeview unit in Naas and in Portlaoise, where there is an agreement on transfer late at night.

This Bill does not aim to solve the funding, staffing and morale problems in mental health services. Rather, it will ensure that, going forward, mental health will be placed, rightfully, at the heart of all key decisions made by the Department of Health.

That will require a conceptual shift in attitudes towards mental health at all levels of policy making and governance. Mental health must be placed on an equal footing with physical health and given the parity of esteem to which it is entitled. This means equal access to effective care and treatment and equal efforts to improve the quality of care our constituents receive. It also means equal status within healthcare, education, practice and measures of outcomes. Mental health supports need to be holistic, providing individuals with care that addresses their physical and mental needs equally. Urgent action is needed to address the crisis. As a society, we need to move beyond the so-called stubborn stigma and treat mental and physical illnesses in the same way. Compassion, acceptance and kindness are the cornerstones of a caring and compassionate society and should be reflected in health care policies and adequate levels of funding for mental health care.

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