Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It says much and highlights the lack of regard, respect and priority that we display to those with mental health issues that we are forced to bring forward a Bill acknowledging that mental health issues should be held in parity with physical health. I welcome the Bill and thank my colleague, Deputy Ward, for introducing it and giving us the opportunity to begin this conversation on an important societal matter.

I also welcome that today the sub-committee dealing with mental health matters was established and had its first meeting. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for his role in fast-forwarding the establishment of that sub-committee.

Mental health services and supports in this State have always been an afterthought or something that was difficult to access in the past and they are often treated like a dirty secret and something to be buried. In those less enlightened times, the official approach was to exclude, lock away, medicate, ignore and somehow try to forget the people in those services.

Many people suffering from mental health issues face a lack of services across the board and those with mental health issues are also at much higher risk of suffering from addiction, falling into homelessness, being unemployed and being imprisoned for relatively minor offences that lead to jail sentences, and this in turn often leads to a worsening of their condition. Our prisons are certainly not the place to warehouse our mentally ill but many loved ones welcome it, as they believe imprisonment will eventually lead to supports and necessary care for a son, daughter, brother or sister. They believe that if people go into the prison system, an assessment will be made and supports would be provided. We know that in many cases when people are released from prison, they end up back on the streets and without the necessary supports.

We also know prison staff are not trained to deal with these cases and facilities are not designed or equipped for such a purpose. The same could be said of our homelessness services, with dormitory-style accommodation and rampant drug use being the last type of conditions needed by people suffering mental health issues. We know many of the vulnerable homeless citizens placed in these settings go on to develop an addiction or fall deeper into the grip of drugs and alcohol, or they come into contact with dangerous and criminal elements, which only makes their problems all the worse.

What do we say to a parent who comes to us looking for help? We are supposed to be the font of all knowledge and people come to us and look for answers. What do we say to the parent who says he or she has a child or children who cannot speak? These people need support and wait years for an assessment, and for years following an assessment of need they still cannot get support for their child or children. This is happening in my area, which is covered by community healthcare organisation, CHO 7. Waiting lists for supports are getting longer so we can imagine the impact this has on a parent or parents when a child is suffering in trying to make himself or herself understood.

Many of the key staff in this broken system have been seconded to tracking and tracing work for Covid-19, and again I cannot understand the thinking from the HSE that this is somehow acceptable or that these children can be left behind during this Covid-19 crisis. As my colleague stated, Covid-19 will have a lasting effect, with months of lockdown and the stress of working from home possibly only becoming apparent in the months and years ahead. Social isolation is at the greatest level we have seen and gone are many of the escapes that many people need. I am not talking about the pub and a few drinks but sport and exercise have been curtailed and walks or hiking have been curtailed. Friends are at the other side of a WhatsApp group instead of being engaged in human interaction. We know the impact this has, particularly on older people who are isolated and unable to see grandchildren. People could once get into nature but they are now forced to walk on grey pavement under streetlights on dark evenings, depending on where they live. They remain isolated from others.

Our already overly stretched mental health services may not be able to cope with what may come. In my years as a public representative I have come into contact with hundreds of cases of people being tortured by mental health problems. Families have been torn apart because nobody could help when a loved one was seized by a violent or paranoid episode. We all know those stories and we have had parents come to us, crying their heart out, talking about the crisis happening in their homes. We see the figures for domestic violence now and I am sure they are increasing.

Older people often come to us.

Their biggest fear is what will happen to their son or daughter after they die. We have a big responsibility as a society and as Oireachtas Members to ensure the availability of supports. We all know of the worry for parents of children with Down's syndrome, who are living longer these days, or parents of children who cannot speak or communicate and who cannot access supports or education. We have failed those children miserably.

We must acknowledge that mental health is every bit as vital as physical health. We have never done so, regardless of the rhetoric from various Ministers for Health. Our strategy for preserving and improving the health of Irish people must be comprehensive and holistic. We must not just take care of the body but also the mind. We have an enormous responsibility in that regard. Again, I welcome this Bill and thank Deputy Ward for introducing it.

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