John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is nothing in this amendment that I could not support. It is a worthy proposal. However, it may be premature given we are in a transitionary period. While I support all that has been said by Senator Power, it is not relevant at this time.

The comments made on A Vision for Change are quite right. I remember some years ago I was involved in a literature review of various mental health policies at international level. A Vision for Change was certainly the best we could find at the time. I agree with Senator Power that we need a driver behind it because it will not be delivered without one. We are not speaking about establishing a new agency but reforming the existing one. Everybody would rather see the change expedited rather than prolonged and I hope we will get through this transitional period as quickly as possible and go through the procurement and interview processes required to find somebody for the role of mental health director for A Vision for Change.

To comment briefly on Senator MacSharry's fondness for nautical metaphors, I remind the House that the iceberg which sank the Titanic melted, as did one which sunk our economy which was called Fianna Fáil.