Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with previous speakers on the need for a much more active engagement on the issue of mental health. As a society, we need to wake up to our deficiencies in dealing with this issue. It is a scandal that is happening in our lifetime and under our watch. We are more than three years in government now and we must grasp the nettle on this issue. People are expecting us and depending on us to do so. What is happening in the area of mental health is wrong. Many people, both on a voluntary and professional basis, are doing remarkable work in the area, but we need a much more focused intervention at Government level. It is not acceptable that people working in the mental health sector have lost confidence in the system. That confidence must be restored.

Will the Leader consider holding a public consultation on the issue of mental health? We have professionals in this House who can contribute positively to such a process. For example, Senator John Gilroy, on his own time and expense, has gone around the country holding public consultations on mental health. He and other Members have a great deal to offer a consultation process that would facilitate an engagement with those working in the sector. It should be a short and snappy process and produce a quick result.

To conclude on a positive note, I wish all the best to Gavin Glynn, the brave four year old from Greystones who is receiving lifesaving cancer treatment in Houston, Texas. I commend everybody who helped his parents to reach their fund-raising target of €350,000 to pay for Gavin's treatment. That achievement reflects the remarkable generosity of the Irish people, whose hearts and wallets responded so commendably to this brave human interest story. I wish Gavin and his parents all the very best in what will be a long but, we hope, successful route to good health.