Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It came as no surprise to hear on Tuesday night that new laws to overhaul the country's existing mental health legislation would be brought forward before the summer recess. Considering the legislation has been in draft form since 2016 and has taken eight long years to reach this stage, it certainly cannot be deemed to have been rushed. As I mention that legislation, I thank the Minister of State who I know has a personal, as well as a ministerial, interest in this area. I compliment her on her commitment and, above all, on reaching out to and consulting all the various groups, particularly the stakeholders in this sector. That is very important work because the legislation will reflect everyone's views and, I hope, achieve consensus on the way forward.

With 35 sections, the Bill is comprehensive. Last Tuesday night's debate echoed the home truths spoken by the Regional Group in January 2023 when we requested a suspension of Dáil business and called on the Minister for Health to address the House to outline plans to protect children and ensure proper access to child and adolescent mental health services. The 35 sections in the Bill will focus on the regulation of mental health services and provide a different and more effective way of responding to needs. I have no doubt it will be one of the most scrutinised Bills to come before the House in the term of this Government. There will be no room for error or shortcomings. Nothing less than a gold standard service will be accepted because people have witnessed the damage and scars that a less than effective can cause. We are all too well aware that trying to fight against the current system is sometimes next to impossible.

The new mental health legislation will have to tick all the boxes. It will have to identify and make provision for all eventualities. We will have to reassure people that the needs of children and young people will be met by qualified medical professionals who specialise in child and adolescent mental health. In addition, it will have to provide a cast-iron guarantee that the needs of these children will be met in a timely and efficient manner. Years of failure to deliver and meet critical need have made people very wise. They know what is required as they have identified what is missing and not working. They know this will be their only opportunity to ensure a proper and accessible service is put in place. Members of the public, particularly those who suffer with mental health problems and their families, are fully aware that the mental health of their children, grandchildren and young people the length and breadth of the country need this service to work. It will be their mission, and I presume the mission of all Members of this House, to make absolutely sure that this will be the end result.

Having listened to the distressing reports from parents and mentors of depressed and anxious children forced to wait for a mental health appointment, in some cases for more than a year, the content of this Bill must address and provide for a service that works in a timely manner. Delays in accessing proper professional help will not be acceptable. We have learned that delays are dangerous. They have the potential to impact on the lives of children into their teenage years and eventually into adulthood. Failure to access timely health can have catastrophic consequences. The World Health Organization determines that childhood and adolescence are critical stages of life for mental health and well-being. This is the stage when young people develop a wide-variety of life skills that will form the foundation for the rest of their lives. It is difficult for us as adults to see today's world through the eyes of a child or young teenager. Given that we ourselves struggle at times to comprehend what is going on, how must it appear to young and innocent minds? It can often be hard for adults to recognise that a child needs support with mental health issues, just as it can be difficult for the child to verbalise the challenges they are facing. In cases like this, it can be because the child does not understand what is happening around them. Unintentionally, this lack of comprehension can result in what starts as a manageable issue spiralling out of control. By the time this is identified by parents or teachers, it has magnified and become a deep-rooted problem that only a trained professional can help.

Children today are overly exposed to the harsh realities of the world. Every day, television news blasts images of war and suffering from around the globe. News bulletins contain violence and hatred and this fills our homes every day. Films and TV programmes add another layer. In their quest to be the best, they touch on every imaginable subject, often in the most graphic way. These programmes are screened in the early evening, ironically not long after the news programmes. They tackle issues that children do not understand and do not need to be exposed to, yet they cannot be avoided in the majority of homes. Young children do not have an adult understanding of what is happening. They cannot differentiate between reality and fiction. Many of them do not understand that these things are not happening nearby in their local communities. They see children like themselves scrambling for food, standing beside dead bodies or running from explosions. The world as it is portrayed to them on TV or online is a terrifying place. These horrors prey on young people's minds and often they cannot understand how it makes them feel. In most cases, they do not verbalise how they feel.

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