Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute. I have spoken many times in this House on mental health and in particular, the mental health of our younger generation. The younger generation of today faces many challenges and mental health is one of the main ones. I welcome this Bill and hope that by transferring certain functions to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, it will improve the provision of mental health services to our younger generation.

Unfortunately, statistics do not lie. The latest figures show that more than 2,500 children and young people are waiting for CAMHS. What is even more alarming is that almost 9,000 children are waiting for primary care psychology treatment. In addition, more than 1,500 adults are waiting on primary care psychology treatment from the HSE. These figures are truly shocking and unacceptable. In this day and age, we should not have any child or young adult waiting on mental health services because the dangers are just too great.

The World Health Organization, WHO, states that a minimum of 14% of a country’s overall health budget should be allocated to mental health services. Sláintecare recommends that the mental health budget should be a minimum of 10% of the overall health budget but the latest Government figures show that only 5.2% of the overall health budget was allocated to mental health. To put this in perspective, our mental health budget is nearly two thirds less than the minimum recommended by the WHO. The Mental Health Commission told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response that Ireland's mental health system is not fit for purpose, is out of date and substantial additional investment is needed. This is a serious issue and one that the Government needs to address as a priority.

Prior to the Covid pandemic, waiting lists for mental health services were at crisis levels. Now that we are coming out of this pandemic, I fear that those waiting lists have gotten even worse. I call on the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to tackle this problem immediately.

Time and time again we hear the Government talk about the challenges of tackling mental health and the many actions it is taking to deal with the issue. The bottom line is that not enough is being done to tackle mental health problems, particularly among our younger generation. The Government needs to take this seriously and invest more resources so that more than 2,500 children are no longer waiting for access to CAMHS. We need to dramatically reduce the number of children waiting on primary care psychology treatment. At present, almost 9,000 children are waiting for such treatment and this is unacceptable.

In my role as a Deputy and through my involvement in the GAA, I see at the first-hand the challenges faced by the younger generation in particular. I also see that mental health issues in this generation are getting worse. We cannot have a situation where we are constantly dealing with these issues too late. We need to address mental health issues at a very early age. We need to teach children in primary school that mental health issues and challenges will occur in their lives and that there are ways and means to deal with them. Children must be taught how to deal with the many challenges that they will face in life. Stress, anxiety, and fear among our younger generation are growing all the time and we must put systems and supports in place to enable them to deal with these challenges. The stigma attached to mental health issues must be removed. It is okay to say that you need help or that you cannot cope. These are not weak but strong actions to take. The younger generation must be supported in these challenging times. The bottom line is that if we can provide this generation with the proper supports and systems, they will support each other. When a friend is struggling, it is very important that people rally round and support each other. Often when teenagers are feeling under stress they turn to their peers for support. This is where education and a proper understanding of mental health issues will really help. As I have said, the figures for mental health are truly shocking.

I call on the Minister to acknowledge that we have a crisis on our hands and to commit to ensuring that proper and adequate funding and resources are allocated to mental health issues. It is disgraceful that only 5.2% of our annual health budget is allocated to mental health services when the WHO recommends a minimum of 14%.

This time last week I spoke to the Minister of State the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, and to staff in her Department about a very serious case involving a 14 year old girl in Dundalk. In fairness to them, they contacted the girl's mother and they tried their best to help. The child did see a psychologist and she spoke to CAMHS staff, including a social worker and the team leader. They are all trying their best but the child has said that she wants to commit suicide. At present, the child is at home with her mother and three other siblings but that is not the right place for her. I contacted the Department and explained that this child is banging her head against the wall and is looking for help. Are we going to keep passing the buck? This child is crying out for help. The psychiatrist told the child to come back in one week but her mother cannot take any more stress. She cannot take it any more. She has three other children at home and she is trying her best.

I was told that I must be very careful in what I say and do. The only place I seem to be able to say what I want to say is in the Chamber, thanks to parliamentary privilege. If I go on my local radio station or to my local newspaper, it is me they will come after and, in fairness, I cannot put that on my family. Do I have to come in here every week and keep raising the same issues? I have the contact details of this child and I will pass them on to the Minister of State. I am not trying to pass the buck to anybody but the child is crying and is looking for help. Her parents are looking for help but everyone seems to be passing the buck and that is not fair. We are talking here about a 14 year old child. Her mother took her phone from her and she locks her in her room. When she went to check on her last week, her face was all cut. She is crying out for help. I asked the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to help last week and I am asking the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, this week. Do I have ask the Taoiseach next week? Do I have to ask the Tánaiste the week after that? I am not saying that this girl could commit suicide and could be dead next week but I am crying out for help here. If she goes to see professional people but they do not listen to her or to her mother, what is the point of that? When she went to see the psychiatrist, he did not even check if she had any marks on her body. He just asked her some questions. She said to him, "I don't want to be here", but then she said that she wanted to be helped. She is very conflicted.

When I am finished speaking I will send the details that I sent to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, last week to the Minister of State. I do not care who gets involved or what is involved. All I want to know is that we can help this girl. If we can save one life, it will be well worth it.

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