John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I thought it was a given that service users were already talking to me, but I acknowledge that I should have conveyed that information on a more formal basis. I would like to outline the basic principles we should be following from here on. I am asking for an adjournment of the debate on Committee Stage until March on the basis of what I propose. Members should know that what I propose is not an empty exercise and that they have not wasted their time in coming to Dublin today. An invitation will be issued from the Department to all service users and all those with an interest in this issue to submit their proposals before March and I will meet as many of them as possible. Since my appointment, I have made a point of meeting at least five groups a week from the mental health or disability sector. I now know most of the groups involved and it is a matter of making them aware of the purpose of this process. I am initiating a process, whereby service users will be invited to come to the Oireachtas to make their case. I will ensure we will have a suitable place, I hope the audiovisual room, where they can make their case before Members in order that we will all be properly briefed. Until I came into this job, I did not know much about this sector, but that is not to say I know much more now. We must all be given a full briefing on the issue which is currently before the Seanad but which will be put to the Dáil by way of the mental health review in the new year. I want to deal with the Bill in March.

I would like to respond to the specific points raised by Senator Fitzgerald. I agree that the idea is to be ready with capacity legislation on all of the reform programmes. We should be thinking of devoting next year to a consideration of mental health issues. There are many proposals we should continue to promote. We must give total responsibility to the new director for the reform programme on a day-to-day basis, rather than to a Minister. I do not wish to lay all of the blame on the new director, but it is important that both he and the 14 clinical directors are permitted to bring forward the reform programme in the next five years. This means we must have an implementation plan with teeth.

I have mentioned that we will have a meeting for service user executives on 22 December. The Mental Health Commission is also preparing its report on its position which is expected in the period from 10 to 12 December. It is important I receive everybody's position on the issue. I recognise fully the call made by the Senator for the full involvement of service users and that will happen. The process I envisage forms part of the reform of mental health services. Everybody I meet in the House talks about the need to ensure the mental health service is on a level with acute services and that it receives the same level of support. Since I came into the Department 12 months ago, I have received a clear message from the debate in both the Seanad and the Joint Committee on Health and Children that we need clear targets. That is the reason I have set a timeframe, to which I have committed totally in order that we will bring forward the reappraisal of A Vision for Change in February. On that day I want to acknowledge publicly where the reform programme is working well and to be honest and point to where it is not working well. More importantly, I will challenge the regional directors who receive funding from the Department to demonstrate how the funding is being used in moving from the institutionalised model of mental health services to the community model.

Leaving aside the important issue of ECT, the challenge for all of us is to ensure we will no longer have people living in our old psychiatric hospitals. We need a real commitment in this regard if we want to ensure proper reform. Today I met representatives of the Clúid organisation and expect to meet representatives of the Irish Council for Social Housing shortly. I am meeting these organisations to try to reduce the overall cost of delivering on A Vision for Change. I want to involve the voluntary housing sector in moving at least 80% of patients from psychiatric hospitals into supported housing. This is not a matter of trying to deliver reform on the cheap. It is important that we recognise the HSE must be tied into this process. Whoever leaves an old mental hospital must have the support of a community mental health nurse, occupational therapist or whatever service is required. These supports cannot be separate from each other.

Even if we had the best service in the world and the capital programme required, which we do not, we must still have people who are prepared to use the mental health services. The biggest challenge we face is the removal of the stigma attached to mental health issues. The past 15 months have not been wasted in this regard. I watched the interview with Michael Murphy on Ryan Tubridy's show and attended his book launch and told him how courageous he was in speaking out. I believe getting the media involved is important in helping to remove the stigma and have invited the newscasters to become involved in the process. I am pleased to tell Senators that Ms Eileen Dunne and Mr. Michael Murphy came here to meet me a fortnight ago and have agreed to act as advisers when we meet editors in local radio stations some time in February in the hope of having a weekly programme on mental health issues to ensure we look after our mental well-being. It is most important that we establish a service that will cover the issues that affect people. We can talk all we want about money and the capital programme, but we want to ensure we deal with the basic issues involved. Treatments must be provided and we must recognise the need to provide services for those who may not be able to speak for themselves.

This is a two-way process in the House. I recognise the genuineness of the Senator's position and ask her to recognise ours. I also ask that the debate on Committee Stage be adjourned to give us an opportunity to come back to the House having fully deliberated on and listened to all of the various opinions expressed in this controversial debate. If I were to make such a significant jump without being satisfied I had heard all of the professional voices, it would be a leap too far. I, therefore, ask for a period of three months to continue our deliberations.