Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are back again. We have been here for a good few years. I am not here to knock this. I listened to the Minister of State's contribution last night and to our spokesperson, Deputy Ward. The fact that we are discussing this tonight on Second Stage has to be a positive. Most of us are personally affected in one way or another, so it is personal to us. I give credit where credit is due. There are always positives. We have the person-centred approach. The Mental Health Commission is involved. Some services are wrapping around. There has been mental health reform. I was in Edinburgh a while back with the Joint Committee on Autism. It was amazing to see that it has a full wraparound service where, if one has mental health difficulties and any form of autism, there is a channel and pathway to follow. It is supported by the local council. We were discussing primary care centres and how vital they are. The amazing thing about it was that the stakeholders, the kids themselves, those with difficulties or issues with mental health, meet the committee members and there is a massive joined-up system. I know we do not have that here.

Other people have talked about capacity, which has been always a worry here. The majority of people who go into the system and work in the system have been touched in some way. Like nursing, it is more of a vocation than a job. Unfortunately, we still have major problems within the mental health system. If it is not the emergency department, it is An Garda Síochána. The poor gardaí down my way are worn out from trying to help people. We are talking about assisted decision-making capacity too. I am really interested in it because it is a catch-22 scenario. I know of an adult who actually does not want to get help but the family want to help this person. At the moment, they are locked out. They can go to the Garda station to make a statement of concern about the individual's safety and so on, but the individual can just sign themselves out within an hour because they are an adult. That is a huge gap we have to look at.

Many people mentioned CAMHS. We know there are issues with CAMHS. I am not here to knock it. I am all about progress tonight. Nothing can be perfect, but progress is important. We need support and proper conditions for staff. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, will not like me bringing it up, but we had centres that were working. Things worked; they were not broken, but somebody in the HSE decided we had to make changes That happened with the Owenacurra centre, which the Minister of State has been brilliant on, as has Mr. Gloster. I appreciate it. Much work went into it. I do not think it is perfect, but it is going back in the right direction.

A radio station contacted me the other day, asking me if I had figures of rising suicides in rural areas. People were contacting the radio stations. It is a worrying trend that I want to flag up. I do not have that information. It is bad when the radio station is ringing and asking for this kind of information.

We know we have had many reports. I have been lucky to sit on some excellent committees, including the mental health committee and the Sláintecare committee. For people outside listening in, it will be frustrating. I appeal to all sides, despite our differences, to work together. We are in here trying to work for the people beyond here. The pain, suffering and anguish of parents still seems to be high. I do not envy the Minister of State in her job. We still seem to be going at a pace that is far too slow. I am sure everybody in this Chamber gets messages, as I do every day, from family members of young kids who cannot get assessments of need and cannot access CAMHS, who are being bounced from pillar to post with excuses that they have not this but have that. We need to get access to community areas as fast as we can and fix it from there. I thank the Minister of State for her patience in listening to me.

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