Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Recently, myself and Deputy Ó Laoghaire conducted an online survey in Cork on people’s mental health. We got some very worrying figures. Some 86% of people felt downhearted or depressed recently, 90% felt that there were not enough mental health services in Cork, and 47% said that they had been waiting for more than six months for services. On Monday night, we held a town hall meeting with these people and others to discuss their mental health. The stories were harrowing. I thank the people for their honesty and for sharing their personal experience. One person described how his GP had to beg to get him into mental health services and when he got in there, before he was discharged, the psychiatrist gave him a leaflet and said that an emergency team would be in contact.

Three weeks later, that person was contacted by telephone. It is only by the grace of God he was there to answer the call. One lady who works in childcare and early education described how she believes that vulnerable children are falling through the cracks due to a lack of resources and co-ordination.

I have before me a list of stories from people. People want to talk. They want help now. For years, mental health was brushed under the carpet and people were ashamed. We have to realise that it is a crisis that has been worsened by Covid-19 and support is needed. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to support the motion tabled by my colleague, Deputy Ward, because it will make a difference in people's lives.

My final point is that the Cork and Kerry region has the highest waiting list for CAMHS , with 69 children on the list for more than a year.

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