Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. We have been informed today by groups working on the front line that the specialist ACCES team for homeless people with severe mental health difficulties, located on Conyngham Road in Dublin, is now closed to new referrals due to staff shortages. This special community mental health team for homeless people is a vital service that liaises with homeless agencies to ensure that at least some people within homeless services who are very unwell can access appropriate mental healthcare. The absence of this service is likely to lead to people with acute psychosis not getting appropriate treatment. We know that homelessness is at an unprecedented level with over 10,000 people, many of them parents of young children, suffering because of the housing crisis. They are forced to couch surf, to sleep in hostels, on cots or in hotel rooms totally inadequate for anything other than the shortest of emergencies. Some feel they have no choice but to sleep on the streets. These people are under huge strain and the damage that this experience is doing to their mental health should be clear to anyone who cares enough to consider it.

We know that those who suffer homelessness are seriously vulnerable to mental health problems not just because that is common sense but because the statistics show it. Some 47% of people in homelessness last summer were found by Simon and Mental Health Reform to have at least one diagnosed mental health condition. Those are just the ones who can be diagnosed. We know that these strains lead to worsening or development of substance abuse problems which make recovery and rehousing even more difficult for individuals and services. A survey found that 17% of those surveyed had attempted suicide in the previous six months and 19% had engaged in self harm. Some 21% said they had experienced barriers to accessing mental healthcare.

It is difficult enough to access services. These are front-line people who provide a vital service and yet we are heading into the winter, with people who are in dire circumstances, homeless and have mental health difficulties which are often severe, and no more referrals will be taken in this centre. I cannot understand why this issue keeps coming up about staff shortages. Can we find out when this will be resolved? Was this flagged up beforehand? There are recurring staff shortages with no forward planning. I am very conscious that the Minister of State mentioned staff morale in an earlier Topical Issue debate. It is important to acknowledge that staff are doing their very best in extremely difficult circumstances. We as legislators, the Minister of State and the Government are letting these people down terribly. We are aware that things will worsen. Can anything be done to resolve this issue as soon as possible? Otherwise we will unfortunately face more deaths on the streets.

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