Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is clearly a crisis in mental health, the provision of mental health services and the resourcing of these services. Many of these problems are a consequence of insufficient staffing levels in such services. For many years, mental health services have haemorrhaged highly qualified staff without them being replaced. Mental health services in Ireland have had a big staff retention problem for many years. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that Ireland is ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for mental health. The State of Health in the EU reports, which are published every two years, compare Ireland with other countries in the EU across a range of different categories, including mental health. The most recent report confirmed that the rate of mental health disorder in Ireland is higher than the EU average.

One of the areas of mental health in which I have a particular interest and have advocated for is dual diagnosis. This simply means that a person can have both a mental disorder and a substance use disorder involving alcohol or drugs, or both. People presenting with dual diagnosis have faced barriers that have excluded them from the appropriate care needed. It can be a struggle for many to get proper care and supports for their mental health problems. The bar for admission to mental health services is set very high and there seems to be a reluctance in making decisions where people with severe mental health issues who also have addiction problems are admitted to the service. This also applies to situations where a person presents at a Garda station with mental health issues. In such cases, a psychiatrist is supposed to be available to assess the individual. In my experience, during the time such individuals wait to see the psychiatrist, their condition may have changed, perhaps improved, which can lead to them being sent home after being seen by the psychiatrist rather than the assessment being based on their original distressed condition. This leads to a false analysis of the individual's true mental state.

For those who get a level of support, they find that when they leave the services, there is no proper aftercare or follow-up for them. There is a lack of outreach and follow-up programmes for those who have been brought through the mental health service and are integrating back into the community.

Mental health staff work very hard and do a great job with the resources they have. Many of them go above and beyond the call of duty. They deserve better. They deserve a better working environment that is fully resourced and fit for purpose. Too many people have lost their lives having been turned away from our hospitals and services. Resources are badly needed to help address this.

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