James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. Senator Mansergh referred to what should and should not be priorities of Government. The first priority of any Government should be the health and well-being of all citizens. It is provided for in the Constitution that we cherish all of our citizens equally. I am unhappy with conditions in many of our mental health institutions and, from time to time, the condition of buildings is a topic for discussion on radio and television programmes and in the local media. The buildings in many parts of the country belong to a different era, having been built by a different Administration and they have been outdated for many years.

I compliment Senator Henry on tabling this motion. I am a member of the visiting committee of a health board and I am often not happy with the admission units where patients sometimes spend two or three weeks for assessment. They are not pleasant places and they should be more welcoming. A stigma is attached to admission units and the issue should be examined in great detail, because, as Senator Henry said, we owe it to our people.

Many elderly patients in mental institutions have been there for a lifetime and they often have no friends or family and perhaps have Alzheimer's disease. These institutions are the wrong place for such people and every effort should be made by the authorities to move them to more warm, welcoming institutions such as nursing homes. This is happening in some health board areas, but it should be national policy. The only friends in whom patients can often confide are the staff. I join other Senators in complimenting the staff of mental institutions who have often worked beyond their duty. It should be a priority of Government to look after the health needs of our citizens. God knows when anyone can be afflicted with mental illness, to which an unfair stigma attaches and which is, after all, a health condition. I wholeheartedly support Senator Henry's motion.