Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

After constantly calling for the previous Minister for Health to release Sharing the Vision: A Mental Health Policy for Everyone, I cautiously welcomed the fact that it was finally published just before the previous Government ended. A Vision for Change was a bold document and one of its time. Due to lack of proper investment from previous Governments, however, it was never even close to being fully implemented.

We can have no half measures when it comes to mental health services provision. We need a fully integrated mental health service that provides patients with the care they need when they need it. I challenge the Minister and whoever else will have responsibility for mental health in the new Government to put into effect comprehensive, person-centred, holistic and community-based mental health services. This is a challenge the previous Government failed. That Government was responsible for acute waiting lists. In December, 2,327 children were waiting for an appointment from CAMHS. More than 100 of these kids were waiting over 18 months with more kids waiting for more than two years. One recommendation of Sharing the Vision, with which I agree, is to increase the age range of those eligible to attend CAMHS from 18 to 25.

Currently, young people make the transition to adult services at the age of 18. This can be an age when change, uncertainty and vulnerability prevail. Failure to secure a safe transition can lead to disengagement and ultimately to poorer mental health outcomes. Unless there is adequate investment in these structures and in CAMHS staff, I am afraid that this could just lead to an increase in waiting lists and a lack of services for those who need them.

Over the years, many people have fallen through the cracks of mental health services, but I will welcome stuff when it is good. I welcome the desire in Sharing the Vision to provide a service for those who have a dual diagnosis. There needs to be a vision, and I have not seen it in this Revised Estimate, for local addiction services to be fully resourced. The existing services are bursting at the seams. They need long-term investment so they can budget for and provide services for emerging needs and not just current needs, and so they can be proactive instead of reactive to problems as they arise. The 14 local drug and alcohol task forces need an increase of funding to allow them to plan strategically for the long-term services they need to provide comprehensively, and for which the sector is crying out.

There has been an over-reliance, and I hope it does not continue, on non-governmental organisations to provide the mental health services the Government should provide. We need to move away from this model. We need to fund addiction and mental health services directly and publicly. We need parity of esteem between mental health and physical health. As mentioned earlier, we are on the verge of a mental health tsunami post Covid-19. Existing mental health services are already inundated with cries for help. Covid-19, by its very nature, has increased people's worry and their anxiety levels. Young people were left in limbo for too long with regard to their leaving certificate examinations. They are missing their friends, missing school and missing their social supports and structures such as Gaelic football and whatever other clubs they are involved in. People have witnessed and experienced increased levels of domestic violence. People have lost loved ones and were not able to attend funerals due to restrictions. Some people have experienced financial uncertainty and job insecurity. People have lost businesses, are behind on rent and mortgage repayments and are worried about childcare. There are many issues across the spectrum. Front-line workers have provided essential services right through this pandemic. I include also the retail staff, delivery drivers and everybody else at the forefront. They may need our help in the future. I call on the Government to meet the mental health experts and service providers to get feedback on Sharing the Vision, and to have a robust, open and honest conversation to improve the mental health and addiction services in areas where gaps exist. Time will tell if this Government has the political will to implement real changes in how mental health services are provided. Unless there is an increased budget for mental health and addiction services, I am afraid documents such as Sharing the Vision will not be worth the paper they are written on.

In my area of Dublin Mid-West I congratulate those who took part in the "Itsoknottobeok100k" initiative in June. It is a bit of a mouthful but that is its name. A group of people got together and decided to raise awareness around mental health services in our area, and to raise funds. As we speak they are on their last lap in Collinstown Park in Neilstown. I was hoping to be there too because I took part in it, but I am here. I congratulate each and every single one of the participants. I commend them for the community approach to an issue where they saw gaps in services, and they are looking for those gaps to be plugged.

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