Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy's last point. I am not trying to pass the buck but there are wider questions to be answered on a societal level. We need to look at the cause of these issues and what is driving them rather than treating the symptoms.

The Deputy referred to recruitment. There are challenges in that regard but, as I have said repeatedly to officials in the Department, that is no excuse. We must do more. There is a global scarcity of highly specialised trained mental health professionals. The Deputy asked what we are doing about it. Money is one aspect of the issue. I have limited control over the budget.

I have looked at how it is done in other countries. Of great interest is how other countries are utilising the online space to deliver consultant psychiatry. Rather than having a consultant psychiatrist in the emergency department of Cork University Hospital waiting for one or two presentations in a 24 hour period, another in Waterford hospital and another in Kerry, one consultant could cover the three sites using a screen. Mental health care can be delivered online. That is being done in other countries such as the United States and Australia. We are making psychology available online 24-7. Many people are more comfortable availing of it online. The anonymity involved suits people as they do not have to go in and register their name and address and so on. Mental health is an area in which that can be done.

We have also developed a crisis text line which will be live before the end of the year. That is a very significant investment which will cost approximately €2.5 million per year. Similar initiatives have enjoyed phenomenal success worldwide. I do not have time to go into its merits. We also offer other digital supports such as cognitive behavioural therapy. We are embracing the role of technology and seeing how it can assist in dealing with the lack of availability of specialists by maximising their contribution while making services more accessible.

I refer to the serious mental health crisis among the Traveller community. Suicide prevention is key and safeTALK training needs to be rolled out in those areas. We need to look at new ways of dealing with old problems rather than trying to blame it on a recruitment and retention challenge.

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