Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss an issue that affects families and individuals from all walks of life. While mental health is an issue that affects all of us at one time or another, I want to talk about two groups who have specific needs with regard to mental health, namely, young people and people who are homeless.

I came across a situation recently involving a 12 year old boy who is suffering from panic attacks. He has not attended school for the past 18 months because of his anxiety and is unable to leave his home. He had been on a waiting list for months to see a psychologist but by the time an appointment came, he was unable to make the journey to Mullingar, which is 30 miles from his home. Months later, after several failed appointments, he still has not received the intervention he and his family so desperately need.If that intervention had arrived in a timely fashion, I have no doubt the child would be in school today. Instead, there is now a risk that his life opportunities have been thwarted. There are many similar situations in which young people have difficulty accessing mental health services in Athlone and throughout the country.

Accessible and informal mental health services play an essential role in preventing mental health problems in vulnerable young people. The economic benefit of local rapid-response mental health services has been proven. The personal benefit is incalculable. Services, such as those provided by Jigsaw, which are free and do not require GP referral, are informal and therefore attractive to young people. I urge the Minister of State to make Athlone a priority for the development of the next Jigsaw service since the town is the largest in the midlands.

Another group who suffer disproportionately are the homeless. Up to 47% of homeless people have been diagnosed with at least one mental health problem. Recently, I have been in discussions with the Midlands Simon Community. Those running the service have explained to me that it is not uncommon for homeless people to face two, three or even four such challenges. For example, they may have a mental health diagnosis, an addiction, a history of abuse and a brain injury. Each time the Midlands Simon Community attempts to access services on behalf of a client, the service provider states it cannot accept the client because of an addiction issue that needs to be resolved. The service provider also states it cannot accept someone who has a brain injury or someone who is actively suicidal. It seems there is no joined-up thinking yet and no appreciation of how hard life is for people. There is little appreciation that some people have multiple hardships and simply do not fit neatly into one box or another.

We need more accessible services but we also need special tertiary services for people with complex needs in order that someone who has fallen into addiction as a way of coping with trauma can be helped. Every community in Ireland has been afflicted by suicide or self-harm and the emotional turmoil associated with such ideation does not confine itself to business hours. My concern is that someone who is suicidal and who turns up outside normal hours often has nowhere to go. No one who is suicidal should be turned away. I am aware of a number of cases in which people have sought help or tried to get a place in a psychiatric hospital only to be told they would have to get the underlying addiction treated first.

For some, the place on an addiction service has come too late. I am passionate about this issue. Not a single parish in the country has avoided the devastation of suicide. The tragedy is that all those deaths were avoidable. Were Ireland to take mental health as seriously as we have taken road deaths, for example, we would be a healthier and safer country in which to live.