Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies who attended for their valuable contributions. We are facing into a very difficult period with introduction of level 5 restrictions as of today, and the worsening epidemiological figures cross the country. In the past week alone, more than 8,000 cases have been confirmed and the national incidence rate sits at 262 per 100,000.

The Government has implemented a suite of measures to address the deteriorating situation, including the introduction of level 5 restrictions nationwide, and the continuation of the measures in this Act and the Health Act 2020. These measures are aimed at limiting the spread and damage of Covid, and at the Government’s key priorities of supporting and maintaining health and social care services, keeping education and childcare services open and protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities.

I thank Deputies Kelly, Shortall and Ward for their constructive contributions. I apologise to them. I understood the date was set out in the draft resolution but they do not seem to be aware of that. I will look into this and update them. The Government has chosen to align the new date for the sunset clause of 9 June 2021 with its medium-term strategy, Covid Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with Covid-19. This date allows our mental health services to plan appropriately for the medium term. I confirmed yesterday that the temporary measures may be ended earlier by ministerial order should the public health situation improve to such a point that the measures are no longer needed. These emergency measures will be subject to ongoing review, and will be repealed if circumstances allow.

Deputy Kelly asked about psychiatrists. Independent consultant psychiatrists have been examining patients remotely. The Mental Health Commission examines all patient records and all reviews of involuntary detentions. The commission has monitored the implementation of the new measures. While the current situation is not ideal, it has ensured that the rights of patients have been upheld and that every patient has received his or her hearing. The commission has not flagged any issues to the Department. It is keeping records of all tribunals and all records relating to patients, examinations and detentions. As of this week, no one-person tribunals have been required, as Deputy Kelly said. I reiterate that tribunals have been conducted by independent consultant psychiatrists. I hope that allays fears and that he might support the motion.

On mental health more widely, the outbreak of Covid-19 has been a source of significant stress, anxiety, worry and fear for many people. This arises from the disease itself, as well as from impacts such as increased social isolation, disruption to daily life and uncertainty about employment and financial security. The Government recognises this and has put in place funding for a revised mental health promotion and well-being campaign, funding for online supports and the recently launched national crisis text line, 50808. These measures complement, rather than replace, face-to-face services.

The Government has further increased funding to HSE mental health services by an additional €50 million for 2021, bringing the total to €1.076 billion. This funding will help to implement our new mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, which sets out the roadmap for mental healthcare at all levels over the next ten years. This week, a leaflet went into all 4,000 secondary schools that signposts supports for that age group from 12 organisations. The leaflet is also available online for third level students who are not on campus. We are also examining a new advertising campaign especially for older, more vulnerable people who might not have access to the Internet or a smartphone to hammer home the number they can contact if they want to make a call. That will be rolled out on local radio stations in particular that have significant listenerships in the morning. We are also looking at counselling options. The organisation MyMind has capacity to provide counselling up to December. It provides counselling in 15 different languages, which is very important. We are doing a lot to ensure that supports are there. I hope that Members will be able to support this now that I have given more clarity.

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