Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

(a)To insert the following after “acknowledges that”: “— positive mental health is fundamental to overall health and well-being;

— mental health is central in building a healthy, inclusive and productive society;” (b)To insert the following after “8,893 children are waiting for primary care psychology treatment”: “— bereavement, isolation, family financial loss, economic hardship, trauma, chronic stress and fear are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones;

— following the Covid-19 pandemic, children are experiencing different emotional and behavioural reactions such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, behavioural problems, somatic complaints, fear and traumatic grief;

— the pandemic may compound pre-existing trauma, adversities and inequalities for some children;

— many children have faced trauma and chronic stress due to increased levels of alcohol and drug use, domestic abuse and anxiety in the home during this pandemic;

— due to the pandemic and school closures, children have missed out on in-person contact with friends, family members, classmates, teachers and their school communities;” and

(c)To insert the following after “calls on the Government to”: “— include mental health and psychosocial considerations in national response plans to Covid-19 across relevant sectors;

— re-establish a dedicated lead for mental health within the HSE that reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer;

— support recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic by building mental health services for the future, recognising that all affected communities will need quality mental health services to support society’s recovery;

— develop and fund the implementation of national services’ re-organisation strategies that shift care away from institutions to community services;

— ensure the Department of Health conducts a comparative study as to which countries perform well in the area of mental health and assess how Ireland compares;

— ensure the Department of Education conducts a comparative study as to which countries perform well in the area of trauma informed school strategies for students, educators and school communities and assess how Ireland compares;

— increase training of trauma informed school strategies and restorative practices for all educators and school communities commencing immediately;

— support and implement trauma informed school strategies and restorative practices for all students, educators and school communities commencing in the new school year 2021/2022;”

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