Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The pandemic is taking its toll on everyone's mental health. It is especially felt by people living alone, young people and people who have not been able to see their family members since last March. The key to addressing increased anxiety and isolation is an effective Covid elimination strategy for the island of Ireland, such as that proposed by the We Can be Zero campaign. We need immediate measures, a massive investment in public health resources, distribution of the vaccine, mandatory hotel-based quarantining for people landing on the island and significantly greater co-operation with Northern Ireland. This strategy would get us back to normal more quickly, give people hope and, therefore, help to address mental concerns. In addition, quicker decisions on issues like the leaving certificate and junior certificate examinations and better consultation with the people involved would help to ease stress and anxiety around those matters.

The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the continuing underinvestment in our mental health services. There is an over-reliance on GPs and overstretched NGOs, a lack of multidisciplinary teams in settings where they are required the most and a continued practice of keeping people with psychiatric conditions in congregated settings. The recent report by the Mental Health Commission on mental health services for older people highlighted the inadequacy of services and the need for urgent improvement.

I wish to raise three specific issues. Time is limited for the Minister of State to reply but I would appreciate written answers to questions she does not have time to address. First, staff in primary care mental health services, which were already overstretched before the pandemic, have been redeployed to other services. Resources have been taken away from the preventative and early intervention areas. Before Christmas, the Irish College of General Practitioners informed the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Mental Health that many of its members had stopped referring patients to primary care mental health services because of extensive waiting lists driven up either further by staff redeployments. As a result, the only option for many GPs is simply to prescribe medication, which is in no one's interest.

Demand for these services will only increase and people's conditions will become more complex and more expensive to treat. How does the Minister of State intend to address this issue?

A major concern I share with many is the inappropriate accommodation of people with disabilities in congregated settings. There are over 1,500 people with disabilities under 65 in nursing homes. Some psychiatric patients reside in institutions and there are many living in intellectual disability services. Therefore, despite the best efforts of all involved, Covid-19 spreads quickly in congregated settings. I understand that the Minister of State inherited this situation but she still has to respond to it now, and urgently. I wonder what steps have been taken to protect the people in question, including through the distribution of the vaccine to those under 70 in the congregated settings.

The Minister of State mentioned eating disorders. We are aware that Covid-19 exacerbates existing mental health issues. It is very worrying, therefore, that no funding was allocated under the national eating disorder treatment plan for 2020 and that none of the €1.6 million allocated in 2019 was spent. Eating disorders, which disproportionately present among young women, are among the psychiatric conditions most associated with mortality. While the decisions made were HSE decisions, I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could look into the matter personally and urgently and get back to me.

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