Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)

As the Minister of State knows, a 2022 report noted that 42.5% of Irish adults met the criteria for at least one mental health condition, while 19% of people have sought professional help to deal with mental health challenges. These are huge numbers and demonstrate how difficult life can be for so many people. One of the most difficult things to do is recognising that something needs to be addressed and then taking the steps to do so. I commend all of those who have taken that brave first step.

World Mental Health Day, which falls tomorrow, 10 October, is a day that can be beneficial in raising awareness of mental health issues. Unfortunately, it can often be very difficult for people to access State supports. In recent years, this has particularly impacted young people who have tried to engage CAMHS. In Limerick, the CAMHS system is being overwhelmed with referrals. Since 2020, the number of young people waiting more than a year for assessments has increased by 145%. In an area of health where early diagnosis is critical, that is extremely disappointing for these kids and their families.

In the absence of available and consistent State support for those in need of mental health supports, volunteers have stepped into the breach. In my home city of Limerick, we are extremely fortunate to have so many volunteers who are ready to assist people. Various groups, run by individuals who give up their free time, have been critical in our efforts to address mental health challenges. I refer to places such as the Haven Hub, where people can walk in and talk to someone who cares and wants to help. There are also suicide prevention teams such as Limerick Treaty Suicide Prevention and Limerick Suicide Watch. These women and men give up their time to walk the city and the banks of the Shannon to offer support and the hand of friendship to anybody who may be considering entering the water in a last desperate act. The Limerick Mental Health Association, which has been in existence for 23 years has done great work in raising awareness of mental health issues and has worked to reduce the stigma associated with the challenges in this regard. I encourage anybody in Limerick to visit its website this week to see all the events that are scheduled to occur.

Last October, the Minister of State and I attended the launch of the community access support team, CAST. There were many false dawns in establishing this team, and the launch date was were pushed back several times. However, it was launched eventually and has become a crucial tool in combating out-of-hours mental health emergencies. For those who are unaware, CAST comprises gardaí, medical professionals and paramedics who assess and respond to mental health issues, particularly out of hours. Between January and May of this year, the team has had over 200 interactions with people. An assessment suggests that 80% of those interactions had an impact on the person in crisis. This project has been a success but it continues to operate on a pilot basis. I urge the Government to ensure that it is maintained and supported through central funding and not funded by already hard-pressed local HSE and Garda.

During the summer, I was heartened to hear the Minister for justice say that this service should be expanded across the State. It really is working. Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman told the health committee that over 40 people have avoided arrest by availing of support services. As the Minister of State knows, the emergency department in UHL is the most overcrowded in the State. There are positive things being done that should be retained and expanded. Unfortunately, such positive interventions are often quickly followed by a regressive step. One such regressive step was the announcement in Tuesday's budget of the cuts to transport.

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