Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for talking to us and debating the important issue of mental health and funding. I thank her for her continued genuine hard work in her role as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health. It is important that we are seeing an increased budget for mental health services. The Minister of State rightly said there was a need for definite improvements within the services, and any change must equate to an improvement in the service. I have a raised a number of points with the Minister of State on a number of occasions. While I understand they are operational matters for the HSE, it is very important that we implement A Vision for Change and look at how we implement changes such that they ensure improvements.If there are changes to day centres or hostels the public, mental health users and staff need to fully understand the reasons. We need to understand the benefit of changes and those changes need to deliver improved services. I emphasise this in the context of recent experience of how the HSE has communicated with the wider public in County Roscommon.

I worked as an occupational therapist within community mental health services and it is crucial that people have confidence in the service. They need to feel they can connect as they need to and that is a challenge for us in County Roscommon. There must be an environment and a structure that support people, give them certainty and help them regain control over their lives and enjoy a good quality of life. The mental health budget spans many different Departments and many different areas of life. Senator Neale Richmond rightly spoke of the importance of sporting and community organisations in helping people to achieve a sense of well-being to face the demands of modern life. The work is cross-departmental and the youth task force is trying to engage as many groups as possible to improve people's lives.

I understand the external report into mental health services in County Roscommon is being finalised and it is really important to have it. It was commissioned because things were not working as they should have been. It will identify weaknesses and make recommendations for change. It will create a space for people in our county to use mental services as they need them.