Dáil debates

Tuesday, 2 July 2019

Mental Health Services Reports: Motion [Private Members]

 

8:30 pm

Photo of Jackie CahillJackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Our mental health services are one of the greatest issues of concern to people. There is increasing concern for the well-being of our young people in particular. The tragedies that are visiting them in all too great numbers are a worry, with solutions that are too vague and not properly resourced. The recent annual report of the Mental Health Commission and the report of the Inspector of Mental Health Services make for difficult reading. The reports are comprehensive and contribute to building a culture of transparency in the mental health services. They give recognition to improvements as well as deficits within the services monitored. Nonetheless, the reports highlight many areas of concern and the failures of the mental health service make for stark reading. There has been significant under-investment in mental health services in recent years. This must change. The future of our mental health services cannot be allowed to fall off the Government agenda.

There is also the ongoing crisis in the children's mental health services. Thirteen years after the publication of A Vision for Change, the services are understaffed. Too many children continue to be admitted to adult units. Waiting lists and waiting times are too long and renewed focus is needed to reduce these service deficits. While early intervention for children with mental health issues is critical, for children with an intellectual disability such as autism or Down's syndrome who also have mental health issues, a lack of early intervention is nothing short of cruel. Children and adolescents with an intellectual disability are four times more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health problem compared to others their age. They may find it more difficult to deal with those mental health problems because of their intellectual disability.

I refer to the growth of drug use in our communities. This is both a cause and a result of mental health issues. In my constituency of Tipperary, there is growing evidence of a serious problem in this area and of its direct link to suicide. We need acute mental health beds in our county. We need proper and after hours mental health services in Tipperary. We need a focused attack on the reasons young people are using illegal drugs to mask their problems and we need proper counselling supports for them and their families to get them away from drugs and into a mental health service that is fit for purpose.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.