Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State talks about progress. Both she and the Government are always willing to blow their own trumpet. We saw this in the Dáil Chamber all week. I do not know if we are going to discuss the spring statement here but the Minister of State's speech is in stark contrast to the self-glorification in the Dáil during the spring statement about how great things are. What the Minister of State describes as progress is a 10% increase in the waiting list every year, or certainly for this year. The figures I have correspond with what the Minister of State is announcing in respect of waiting lists with 3,000 children and teenagers waiting to access mental health services. The Minister of State thinks this is an achievement and that the Opposition is giving the wrong figures but these are the real figures. The real figures are absolutely terrible. They are the figures over which I am standing and with which the Minister of State seems to agree. The number of people waiting for over a year is far in excess of 400 and there a fairly wishy-washy commitment to deal with those in terms of priority.

My party and I are very committed to the issue of mental health. In fairness, the entire country is wising up to mental health. It is time it is taken very seriously at the highest levels of Government. If we are looking for a decent society and country, we would put things like this and try to deal with young people's mental health problems first before we start talking about spending again, having an election and bribing the electorate. The public will not wear it because in all parts of this country, there is a lack of decency. Deputy Kathleen Lynch is there as Minister of State and is certainly doing her bit but this Government does not seem to be committed to this issue. People in this area, in many other parts of the health service and throughout wider society are falling through the cracks.

Approximately 3,000 children and teenagers are waiting to access mental health services in the community and the number waiting for more than a year is substantially in excess of 400. The waiting lists are going up. The Minister of State said that much progress has been made but the waiting list seems to increase by 10% every year at a time when we realise that there is a national crisis in this area.It is a crisis that can be dealt with if we make sufficient resources available and, perhaps, change the approach. The demand for services is increasing and the Minister of State gave some unverified information that this may be because people are trying to get on other waiting lists, but she did not give any evidence of that. That is just an excuse.

We do not seem to be serious about this at all, or about the fact that many young people get admitted to adult wards. Those of us who have visited adult psychiatric wards, including Senator Gilroy, who worked in this field, will realise they really are not very nice places. One would question whether one would bring one's own children in to see a patient one had to visit. Saying this is not discriminatory or insulting to anybody; it is a fact that the facilities are not nice places. They are not a suitable environment in which to treat children.

Approximately one third of all child and teenager admissions are to adult wards. This is completely and utterly inappropriate. That we are allowing this betrays an incredible lack of decency in society. This has been highlighted by the Mental Health Commission, which has said it is not acceptable. Nobody believes it is acceptable in any way, yet it still continues to happen. The chairman of the commission stated:

We’re talking about teenagers who may find themselves in wards with much older people in environments that can feel threatening and fearful. They lack the kind of therapeutic input that is the norm in a children’s setting.

That stands to reason and is common sense, and nobody would need to be a professor of psychiatry or expert on children to realise it.

It looks like the increase is continuing and that there will be year-on-year increases in the number of children and teenagers admitted to adult units. Therefore, there are many problems. For the Minister of State to come in here and criticise the Opposition and claim there has been much progress is not appropriate. We have developed our own strategy on youth mental health and also proposed the establishment of a mental health authority. Having a national agency focusing on one particular issue could result in some good work. The Road Safety Authority comes to mind. Such an agency seems to have an effect if given the necessary budget and resources and the power to be independent of the Government. Such agencies seem to make an impact. The one I propose could play a useful role in tying together the work of all the great voluntary organisations around the country that are working very hard. In some cases, they may do a better job if they are co-ordinated better or given more resources to do the job they want to do.

The reality is that mental health issues now comprise a considerable problem given the suicide epidemic. One in four students is said to experience psychological problems at any given time. Our policy will greatly enhance the role schools and colleges play in promoting positive mental health and equipping young people with coping skills. Many schools do operate effective strategies but there needs to be much more co-ordination in this regard because some schools do not have such strategies. That is simply a fact. Some have very good anti-bullying policies, for example, while others simply do not. There needs to be a focus on positive mental health promotion at all levels of the education system. Some 20 years ago, there was a considerable discussion on sexual and reproductive education and protection for children and vulnerable people as they grow older in school. There was a big controversy at the same time. This is now covered and the strategy applies at all levels of the education system. Perhaps a structure similar to that of the relationships and sexuality education framework could be introduced in respect of mental health. Such a strategy does not appear to exist, nor does there appear to be a will to produce it.

With regard to bullying and cyberbullying, there is considerable emphasis on peer support. It is a question of informing people what social media are appropriate and how to operate social media. Some people may be ignorant in this regard. All schools and colleges should have their own mental health promotion plans, with students, staff and parents involved in their development and implementation.

There is an implicit criticism by the Minister that nothing was happening in regard to mental health until very recently. At the same time, she wants to implement A Vision for Change, which was the policy of the last Government. We support it and want to see it implemented fully. It is the policy for future services in the area of mental health. We are glad the Government states it is committed to it. It obviously needs to be reviewed. We believe it should be reviewed and the work should start on that process. Clearly, there is more to be done.

I would like to see this issue treated with much more seriousness. It is totally and utterly wrong that a child or teenager should be put through the trauma of going into an adult psychiatric ward. In many cases, the wards are absolutely horrible places, including for the adults who have to attend. Adults have said that. We have visited the places and noted they are absolutely awful. My saying this does not disrespect the staff because they would agree that, in many cases, the facilities are in old buildings of the old style that we should be moving away from. There is some work going on.

I would like the Minister to answer my question on Navan. There has been much confusion there about the move to Drogheda and about what is staying in Navan and what is going to Drogheda. Perhaps the Minister could clarify that in terms of the general service.