Joan Freeman (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am honoured to be a Member of the Seanad and grateful for the opportunity to serve my country and to be a representative of the most vulnerable people in our country. It is no secret that I do not have a political bone in my body, and perhaps that is a good thing. However, I take the role of Senator very seriously and for however long the Government exists, I will work tirelessly to help the mental health groups which are trying to bring about change in our mental health system and will support them every step of the way.I have put in motion the setting up of meetings with various interested reform groups, which have been relentless in their quest to bring about change. I have pledged that I would be their voice on the inside and that I will highlight to all the political parties the need to bring about these recommendations. However, because of my experience over recent weeks in the House, I am sure of the united consensus among all political parties and of their support and belief that the needs of the most vulnerable people in our society must be addressed.

Besides highlighting and helping mental health groups, pushing their agenda and resolving their concerns, I also have an agenda. My heartfelt desire is to address the problems concerning our children. The Taoiseach once said that Ireland is a great country to grow old in. I hope, following this term in office, he will be able to say Ireland is a great country for our children to grow up in. However, to do this, we must begin with the most defenceless, which are children with emotional and mental health problems. They rely on our existing mental health services and they turn to the State for treatment, support and a brighter future, but I am sorry that we are very much letting them down.

Before I focus on the issues and difficulties facing us, I would like to emphasise that my concerns do not relate to the hard-working men and women in clinical services such as the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, because they are equally frustrated by the ever-increasing waiting lists and poor staff levels. I am outraged about the grinding slowness of promised changes that these children have to endure, which expert groups have recommended but no one has listened to. It is not only these groups that have demanded these changes. In 1997, the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR, found that Ireland was in breach of its commitments in respect of the temporary placement of mentally ill minors in adult institutions due to lack of age-appropriate care places. Despite these findings, the Mental Health Act 2001 has still not been reformed to provide for these children.

Let us consider the seriousness of the lack of urgency or commitment to change the existing admission procedures. The Government may argue that, at the end of 2013, there was a 5% decrease in the admission of children to adult units but the Mental Health Commission reported yesterday that there was an increase at the end of 2015. Five more children, giving a total of 95 children, were admitted to adult psychiatric units. There will be reasons to justify their placement in these units - lack of beds, difficulty accessing beds outside office hours and difficulty in conducting assessments outside office hours and at weekends. However, these are the same excuses that have been expressed for the past seven years since the Mental Health Commission issued an amendment to the code of practice relating to the admission of children. Meanwhile, 15 years later, the Mental Health Act still ignores the fact that children are placed in adult units and, 19 years later, the Government continues to ignore the ECHR.

While the Minister of State's advisers may suggest the children are placed in these units for their own safety, many of them are placed in the psychiatric wards of general hospitals in which there are people experiencing significant mental health difficulties ranging from addiction to schizophrenia to dementia and eating disorders. Everyone will recall the terrible tragedy on a psychiatric ward in a general hospital in Dublin where one patient stabbed another. However, the Government is saying children are being transferred to a safe place.Many Senators have young children and teenagers and I call on them to imagine if one of their children had an eating disorder, was depressed or had suicidal thoughts. If they were told that they needed to wait almost two years before they could be seen to, what would they say?

Many of us have been fortunate to enjoy a healthy childhood without having to experience the inadequacies of the mental health system. Yet most of the children in our mental health system are waiting for us to help them. We can help them. We can help them to grow up and become well-balanced individuals despite their earlier difficulties. With the right supports and care our children can put these difficult years behind them. All of us, at some stage in our lives, have had a second chance. I am asking that these children be given just one chance at leading a life like every other child.

I appreciate that the Minister of State has come here today to listen to these issues and I hope she realises that I do not see my role as criticising her, the Department or, indeed, the Government. Rather, I see my role as helping her achieve what the Government has promised for years, namely, a loving nurturing society in an environment that is full of dignity and respect and that will allow our children to look forward to the future.