Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I thank Deputy McGrath for mentioning my father in the context of the debate on mental health and where it has come from since 2006. As he correctly outlined, only a handful of people spoke about this issue at the time and we see many more people are elected now, across the political divide, who do so. I very much welcome that.

Nobody is saying the services are perfect or that there is not much work left to be done. The mental health sector was the Cinderella of the health services for many years but a light is being shone on it politically more and more in recent years, in particular with this Dáil following the election of Deputies from all parties and none with a specific interest in this area. That has culminated in the production some months ago of a report by the Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care. Deputy Browne proposed that the committee would be set up, with the support of the Government. A robust report was put together by the committee. Other Members who were on the committee are present. The report highlighted some of the issues involved and the nuts and bolts of the mental health service. I again call for the committee to made permanent. I seek an update from the Government on where we are at in terms of the establishment of the committee on a permanent footing. The Minister of State will be aware that I am pushing the matter hard behind the scenes. I would like to see that happen because I do not want us to take our foot off the gas.

We started to shine a light on A Vision for Change and to investigate its implementation, not only from a political point of view but from the point of view of a management structure. Such oversight is necessary for us as politicians to understand the intricacies of what is happening in the mental health services in order to be able to solve the problems. It is easy to stand up here and make sweeping political statements to get headlines without understanding the nuts and bolts of what is going on behind the scenes. It is incumbent on all of us to educate ourselves as much as possible on an issue such as this which is sensitive, and we must watch our language each time we speak about it. I call on the Government, along with support from all the parties, to put the mental health committee on a permanent footing. That would send a message from the Oireachtas and show that we are taking the issue seriously and putting it on the map.

There has been a reduction in the number of people on the waiting list for CAMHS in the CHO 3 area, which covers Limerick, north Tipperary and Clare. According to the figures from October 2018, the number of people waiting has reduced by approximately 45. The service has had its challenges. The major challenge with CAMHS is the global competition for consultant psychiatrists. That is something we will have to try to resolve. Previous speakers referred to the industrial dispute involving nurses in the PNA. The PNA came before the committee and made a presentation to us. I would very much welcome a solution to the industrial dispute that is going on at the moment concerning the pay agreement. All sides must continue to work towards a solution.

There have been developments in the mental health area more widely across government. For example, in the education sector, 300 hours of well-being classes have been introduced in primary schools. We need to start thinking outside of the mental health area and the health area generally and look to other sectors. I know of private companies and organisations that are introducing mental health and well-being initiatives to deal with stress in the workplace. There is a commercial kickback as people miss fewer days and are more productive at work. That is starting to happen on the ground and I welcome such a development. I would like more of a cross-departmental approach to mental health rather than a narrow approach. More research and collaboration could be co-ordinated by the mental health committee and that could have a knock-on effect. We speak all the time about early intervention, helping people, educating them and showing them how we can put patterns of resilience into place. That could be though sports, the arts or employment. Given that people spend most of their week at work, the workplace is an obvious place to focus. In so doing, we could help people who fall between the cracks or who are in a vulnerable situation. Organisations such as Jigsaw are important for youth mental health. Another important body is the National Office for Suicide Prevention.

The latest statistics I have show that the suicide rate in Limerick city reduced from 21.8 per 100,000 between 2013 and 2015 to 15.4 per 100,000 between 2014 to 2016. I recognise the voluntary groups that operate in this area in Limerick city who do a lot of work with the public and provide intervention on the bridges as well. That should not go unnoticed. We must give credit where it is due. It is a collaborative approach and we must work on it together. We must be mindful of what we say so that we do not send the wrong message. I understand Opposition parties highlighting where they see problems within the service but I do not want to send the message to the public that people cannot interact with the service or that they should not try to access services. I implore people to approach the services if they are in a crisis situation. I also implore them to go to their Deputies, friends, families or whoever else and to engage with the services if they require help. We must be mindful of that.

I know I am over my time. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for driving the mindfulness and mental health initiative within the Oireachtas. There is a saying that charity begins at home. We must not only preach to ourselves but we must practice it in order to send that message out.

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