Joan Freeman (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I am sure she is very busy, so I appreciate her taking the time to come here not only to clarify issues and address serious concerns facing the most vulnerable in our society, but because I truly believe she wants to have an effective dialogue about what we can do to help.

We are both new to the roles we find ourselves in, yet we are no strangers to the mental health problems that face many people in our country. We are also aware that these problems begin with the children of our nation.While we hear that much has been achieved in this area, the Minister of State and I know that in many areas nothing is happening. I am sure that the Minister of State is determined to address as many issues as possible during her tenure, but how can she do this when the budget she has been given is not only paltry, but offensive?

It was announced that mental health would receive €35 million, but it was a most dishonest statement. Not only was it dishonest, it was also underhanded because the statement omitted two very important issues. First, that €35 million is to be spent over two years and only €15 million would be spent in 2017. That €15 million will merely act as a contingency fund to fill in the gaps that inevitably occur in any given year, such as pension and other natural increases. Second, what makes this even more distasteful is that we have not been told how the HSE intends to distribute that €15 million, which backs up my fear that this money will go anywhere and everywhere that the Government and HSE wants it to go. It certainly will not go towards reducing the waiting lists where more than 2,000 children are still waiting to be seen on a never-ending waiting list.

Recently the Minister of State and I attended the very first mental health summit where there was mention of the review of A Vision for Change and the new task force, both of which are merely kicking the can down the road, something this Department is good at. We have had review after review. Ten years ago we had the "Reach Out " document on suicide. It was reviewed nine years later and another new document came about.

At that mental health summit, we heard a woman speak about an 18-year old young man who had been buried that morning because he died by suicide. One of the pallbearers was 12 years of age. This young little fellow was waiting to be seen by CAMHS for over four weeks. This child had suicide ideation and self-harming issues. The director of mental health who said that high-risk children are being seen within a week is also terribly dishonest.

I ask the Minister of State to provide me a breakdown of what has been spent in 2016 - how it was delivered and how it was administered. In addition how many people were truly hired this year and where were they placed?

I beg the Minister of State not to make the mistake other Ministers of State have made by accepting the crumbs from the table as offered by the Government. She must not allow mental health to continue to be the Cinderella of social issues. Many Senators are as passionate as I am about mental health and they also want to help the Minister of State achieve a fair, compassionate and workable mandate. However, she must also be the champion for mental health. That starts with treating her Department with the same respect all other Departments are treated with. The Minister of State needs to obtain for us the status other Departments are given and obtain for us a voice that will stop being a whisper.