Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. It is important to bear in mind that A Vision for Change is a work in progress over a period of seven to ten years. Given the current financial constraints, the maximum reduction in funding for the entire sector has been capped at 1.8%, relatively lower than in other areas. It is a dangerous delusion for anyone in this or the other House to suggest any part of the public service is outside budgetary considerations. There has been a significant increase in the incidence of suicide. Members on this side of the House are conscious of the importance of the issue.

Considerable strides have been made under A Vision for Change. The mental health service is leading the way in terms of service user involvement, an area in which people were being pushed away. The National Service Users Executive advises on issues relating to planning, delivery, evaluation and monitoring of mental health services. It has shown significant improvements. The NSUE report is due out soon and, while I cannot anticipate its findings, I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, is extremely pleased that it shows progress.

The Senator referred to the child and adolescent service, an area which requires a special focus. We now have 55 multidisciplinary child and adolescent mental health teams in place and a further five teams are in development. In terms of inpatient bed capacity, the number of beds has increased from 12 in 2007 - a low base - to 52 at present. New purpose built 20-bed units in Cork and Galway are opening this month. Work on the second phase of the child and adolescent unit at St. Vincent's Hospital, Fairview is due to commence this year. We were all moved when the problem in this area became apparent a number of years ago and in difficult circumstances efforts are being made to rectify it. It is proposed to replace the existing six-bed facility at Warrenstown, Blanchardstown, increasing capacity to 12 beds.

Central to implementation of a Vision for Change is the closure of old units, a matter which can be controversial. A number of old units will be replaced by more modern services. One example is St. Brendan's Hospital, Grangegorman, where acute admissions have ceased following the opening of the Pine Ward in Connolly Hospital. I remember visiting the hospital as a member of a health board and it smacked of Victorian times, notwithstanding the love and care shown by the staff.

Another subject of public debate is St. Senan's Hospital, Enniscorthy which is due to be replaced by a more modern facility to deliver better services in Wexford and Waterford, including day hospitals, a crisis house, high support residences and a community nursing unit. The decision of the Mental Health Commission to attach conditions to the registration of St. Senan's Hospital, requiring that new acute admissions must cease by February, has necessitated the acceleration of the planned acute service reconfiguration in the south east.

Plans for the transfer of acute inpatient admissions from St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane to a new purpose built unit on the Beaumont Hospital campus are proceeding. I am familiar with the hospital in Portrane and anyone who visited the institution was appalled. It was an extraordinary building built in Victorian times.

There are plans to reconfigure mental health services in Tipperary South. A residential unit is under construction in Clonmel that will allow for the closure of St. Luke's Hospital. It is also proposed to transfer the acute admissions facility at St. Michael's Unit, Clonmel to St. Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny.

See Change - the national stigma reduction campaign - will continue this year. The aim of the campaign is to positively change social attitudes and behaviour in order to encourage people in distress to seek help. This will feed into the valuable work of those who are trying to prevent suicide.

A Vision for Change is a work in progress and improvements will continue this year. There is a reduction of 1.8% in funding for this sector which is relatively low compared to the figures in other sectors. An additional €1 million has been provided for the National Office for Suicide Prevention this year. The achievements, therefore, in the mental health service are real. The issue concerns all political parties; it is not the domain of one party. Ireland was lagging behind in dealing with mental health issues, but we are catching up. Improvements have been made and there is room for more.