Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ensuring access to appropriate treatment for people with mental health needs is a major policy concern. The public health system is in crisis. Ireland's youth suicide rate is now the fourth highest in Europe. The inner workings of the HSE remain a mystery, with no accountability offered. The Bill places a duty on the Minister for Health to promote health parity and ensure all organisations within the health system meet parity obligations in mental health care.

It is important to point out that there are amazing health professionals who are committed to helping, treating and comforting the most vulnerable in our society. Sadly, the system is failing both their efforts and the requirements of those whom they treat on a daily basis. We have all heard the accounts of those in suicidal crisis turning up at emergency departments only to be sent home, with a vague hope of receiving an appointment to see a mental health professional in the near future or, worse, with medication which could well become a drastic means to an end in the absence of specialist intervention. This cannot continue indefinitely. With due respect, no number of special Government committees can stem the steady tide of those who lose the will to live while waiting for a solution.

Services are way behind where they should be. The Government is simply not investing enough in them or supporting resources, as illustrated in the RTÉ "Prime Time Investigates" review of waiting times for adolescents who seek emergency help. The stories were heartbreaking. Sadly, many of us are hearing from people every day who find themselves in similar situations. There are those who cannot or simply will not speak out about their experiences.

There are also serious deficiencies in children's mental health services. I have spoken many times in the House about the Child and Adult Mental Health Service, CAMHS, in the north west. I thank Ms Teresa Dykes and her staff for the work they do. There is no question but that this service has improved and that its waiting lists are getting shorter.

Fianna Fáil recently has received data which show that at the end of January, there were 6,181 children waiting for a primary care psychology appointment, over one quarter of whom had been waiting more than one year, which is not good enough. If we want to help vulnerable children and young people in need of essential mental health services, the Government needs to take a lot more action. The State and the HSE have a duty to do better. It is crucial that every person be treated with dignity, fairness and respect, regardless of their mental health status.

In regard to people who present at doctors' surgeries, what we need is a 24-hour helpline through which GPs can access advice from mental health consultants because they do not know where to turn when families present with a young child with suicidal tendencies and so on. Such a helpline would be of valuable assistance.

See this speech in context