Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State a good evening. I am very happy to be in the Chamber again this evening to make some very brief comments with regard to World Mental Health Day on behalf of the Regional Group. Why? I very much identify with what this day is trying to achieve, which is to raise awareness, and to reduce stigma and, unfortunately, shame as well. We can all certainly identify with that.

I welcome the theme of this year's day, which is mental health in the workplace. I have worked in many different workplaces but perhaps, in the national Parliament here, it is quite unique. Most coworkers and colleagues at least attempt to get on well with each other but there is this trend inside the national Parliament where we have a habit of getting a bit overly nasty to each other, and unnecessarily. This is my first Dáil term but if you speak to people who have maybe been around for 20 years, there is a discernible trend in the wrong direction, and the trajectory is not reassuring. Instead of addressing the question, we have become too quick to personalise, polarise and demonise. If we are talking on this day and trying to focus on mental health in the workplace, this is the place where we should be leading by example. We are on live TV, even right now, and it is important that every word we utter is appropriate, and that we do not stray across that line.

I would also say that prevention is 100% better than cure. Where prevention is not possible, then early intervention is important. I was struck by what Deputy John Lahart said, and he is obviously very experienced with regard to Men's Sheds and Women's Sheds. I want to double on what he said, in that more funding from central government is probably a good way to go, if we are serious from a prevention perspective.

We should always remember that mental health, while it is precious, is also very fragile. Sometimes we look after our cars better than we look after our own bodies and minds. We do the NCT every year for a car, or every two years, depending on the age of the car. Unfortunately, we do not put the same emphasis on our own mental health which, unfortunately, is a bit of a downer.

I welcome the additional funding in the budget for mental health. It is almost €1.5 billion this year, which is progress. It is up about 40%, I think, from the start of this Dáil term, which is very positive. It still falls short of the 10% rule of thumb around the world - that 10% of health funding should be going towards mental health. While there has been progress that I absolutely acknowledge, I guess we can try harder and do better from that point of view.

With regard to social media, our time growing up was before it. It is not easy out there. First, I give my backing to the banning of smartphones in secondary schools. I was in a school in Newbridge last week, the Holy Family Secondary School. They asked me to pass on a message, and I am very happy to do so. They have banned smartphones for the last eight years, at no cost at all. Students just hand in their phones in the morning and pick them up on the way home. The phones are available for transit, and for linking up with parents pre- and post-school. I was very happy to pass that on to the appropriate authorities. It can be done, and most of the students are quite happy with that as well.

Also on social media, we need to mindful of the algorithms out there. Social media is, on balance, a good platform. On balance, it is a good phenomenon for sure. I use it myself but it needs to have some guard rails, which I am not convinced it has. After the Covid-19 lockdowns, people almost overdosed on social media with the obvious effects.

I want to mention gambling which is a big issue, particularly for Irish men. In the past, you would have to go to a retail outlet and physically hand over cash to bet on a horse or a game. Now you have a casino in your pocket, and it really is the unseen addiction. People are in their bedrooms, bringing their phones with them, and their thumbs are handing over hundreds of euro with the obvious detrimental effects.

I was also struck by what Deputy Ó Murchú said. I have been to two funerals in the last fortnight. Both were for men who took their own lives. Interestingly enough, one was in his early 40s, a good friend of mine, Andy Brady; and the other was today in Roscommon for someone who was in his early 50s. It is not just a phenomenon among teenagers or young any more; it is much broader than that. We place a lot of emphasis, quite rightly, on the statistics for roadside fatalities. We do not place the same emphasis on death by suicide. There are about ten a week, I think, which is the unfortunate, grim statistic at the moment. It is one and a half people per day. It is an epidemic. We need to get ahead of it and see if we can do more.

I welcome the Mental Health Bill 2024, which has gone through Second Stage and will be going to Committee Stage soon enough. I have one question, and perhaps I should know this already. If the Dáil is dissolved, what happens the Mental Health Bill? Does the Bill fall or can it continue and be picked up? How easy will it be to pick it up in the 34th Dáil? It would be a travesty if this Bill is not fully signed off on Report Stage before we finish up proceedings here.

I will end with the Minister of State's own phrase: "There is no health without mental health." In one last appeal, I would urge the next government and the next Dáil to try to get the mental health budget up to the 10% rule of thumb. It is a good way to go, and prevention is better than cure. I thank the Minister of State.

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