Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I apologise for my late arrival. I wish to raise the issue that was highlighted in media reports this morning regarding a practice that in America is called the fainting game or sometimes the choking game and which has been around for some time. Its origins go back to the 1980s, when it swept through America for a period before going into decline. However, more than 80 deaths in America have been attributed to this phenomenon. While it principally is confined to teenagers, some of those who have died from it were somewhat older. Nevertheless, it is a highly disturbing phenomenon and I mention it because, unfortunately, a teenager is seriously ill in hospital in our own jurisdiction at present, having fallen victim to this dangerous practice. It has been described among young people as being some type of a high, to use that awful word, but of course it can prove fatal to those for whom it goes wrong. Like all Members, I hope the teenager in question will recover in full. It is a difficult time for him and for his family and, obviously, Members wish him the best.

However, I wish to make a connection with many things that are going on in the society in which we live, which I prefer to describe as the post-Celtic tiger fall-out syndromes. In the case of young people, most of this centres on the incidence of suicide, as well as excessive use of alcohol and other drugs in the society. Moreover, the report produced by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland that was launched yesterday by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, is one of these alarming reports that tells us something about ourselves and forces us to look in the mirror about what this post-Celtic tiger period has meant. As legislators or adults, one might talk about the difficulties for unemployed people or those with difficult mortgages and so on. However, sweeping throughout this country is the connection between the case to which I have just referred regarding the young person in hospital and the issue of suicide, on top of which is the report that came out yesterday. I will cite just one figure from the aforementioned sexual violence report, which is that 35% of perpetrators of sexual abuse against child survivors were themselves under 18 years of age. I daresay this would have been unheard of 20 or 30 years ago. While launching the report yesterday, the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, put it very well by stating: "While we have been horrified over historic abuse, this report forces recognition of current abuse and highlights yet again that the horror of abuse remains part of the tragic experience of too many Irish children." Consequently, when talking about rape or suicide, we no longer are talking about adults, as historically we have done.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Instead, we are talking about children in the context of the report published yesterday and the example I have just cited regarding the phenomenon of the choking game.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Maloney for raising this issue and will address the specific points he made. I also heard the media reports this morning to which he referred and join the Deputy in extending Members' thoughts to this family at this difficult time and hoping for the recovery of their son, who is in hospital at present.

It is highly appropriate that the Deputy should raise this issue today, which is world mental health day.

Many of the issues to which he referred could not be raised on a more appropriate day. He has identified many difficulties associated with growing up, particularly for young people on reaching their teenage years. While there is a large number of positive developments open to them in terms of the freedoms and technology that are available, there is a darker side too with regard to the risks and dangers posed to them, as identified by the Deputy.

The key message to be conveyed is the need to foster a culture whereby all those enduring mental health difficulties, including young people, do not hesitate to seek and receive appropriate help. Physical and emotional development during adolescence can obviously bring its own stresses of many kinds. In order to nurture our children, and ensure they maximise their potential to develop into well-adjusted adults, we must respond properly to their social and emotional needs. The foundation for good mental health is obviously laid in the early years. Society as a whole benefits from investing in children and adolescents on many fronts. The Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is acutely aware of the need to prioritise mental health services in this area, including an integrated and effective approach to educational aspects. The vulnerability of youth is demonstrated by the fact that this is when about 75% of mental illnesses first emerge. The community mental health model asserts the principle of placing vulnerable children, or families, at the centre of the care process. If we can identify issues as they emerge, research tells us that early, and often brief, intervention prevents longer-term pain and lost opportunities.

The Government, in line with A Vision for Change,has prioritised mental health services through providing €70 million over the last two years for many new initiatives. This year the HSE will have funding of approximately €730 million for mental health, and a significant proportion of this is directed, in partnership with non-statutory agencies, towards young people. In addition to the services provided by the HSE child and adolescent mental health service, significant work is being done, for example, by organisations such as Jigsaw or through the See Change and Make a Ripple campaigns. A new Action Plan on Bullyingwas launched on 29 January last by the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to help prevent and tackle bullying at primary and second level.

In addition, the National Office for Suicide Prevention in partnership with the Department of Education and Skills has developed national guidelines on mental health and suicide prevention for the post-primary school sector. I am conscious also that many reports and other sources have rightly highlighted the need to better tackle the issue raised by the Deputy. The Government will continue to take account fully of these in progressing mental health well-being for young people, in line with evolving service priorities and overall resources.

Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am glad he referred to the issue of bullying which I omitted to mention. It is an ever-increasing difficulty among school-going children in particular which seems to have reached almost phenomenal rates. Anyone who engages with school teachers will confirm that. There seems to be a spate of it from one end of the country to the other. It is not an urban phenomenon, rather it is widespread. As some reports have indicated, there is a very strong link between the cowardly practice of bullying one's peers and suicide, an issue to which the Minister of State and I have alluded.

A strong point was made by the Dr. Rosaleen McElvaney, the author of the Children's Mental Health Coalition report, Someone to Care, a report to which the Minister of State may have referred. She acknowledged the considerable challenges in providing care for children in the mental health sphere. It is a difficult one. She said there is "a clear need for a shared understanding and common language". She also said:

For example, many young people are involved with the youth justice system due to mental health difficulties that are left unaddressed. We need a process that diverts them towards community services that address their needs. Earlier intervention and support will lead to better outcomes for all involved.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy in his contribution made reference to phase of "looking into the mirror" and about our having to confront things about our society that are both good and bad. There is no doubt that the huge difficulties and challenges our young people face with respect to their mental health is one part of the jigsaw in terms of ensuring we have a society that looks after people who need help while also recognising that essential public services must be funded and in place to deal with the type of difficulties to which the Deputy referred.

The Deputy made reference to A Vision for Change. As he may be aware, A Vision for Change identifies the need for 80 child and adolescent child and psychiatric inpatient beds for the most vulnerable, who need the care and the service they deserve, and we must ensure they can be provided for them in the right place. Currently, 39 such beds are available and there are plans in place to put additional beds and services in place. A further eight beds will be commissioned in Cork and a further five beds will reopen in Galway by the end of the year. A second phase in terms of a child and adolescent unit at St. Vincent's Hospital in Fairview will be put in place to increase capacity from 12 to 18 beds by the end of 2013. Putting in place those services will be an essential part of the broader set of services that must be available to deal with the issue the Deputy identified. It is apt that he should raise it today, World Mental Health Day. I offer our thoughts and sympathies to the family dealing with the terrible difficulty that prompted Deputy Maloney to raise this issue in the House.